Asia Stream

Exclusive Interview -- The Toughest Job in Asia

Asia Stream

Show Notes

We interview Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari about the challenges his country is facing, including terrorism, a heavy debt burden, the rivalry with India, and the worst environmental disaster Pakistan has ever experienced. We also compare the approaches that Asia's central banks are taking to deal with this difficult economic moment.

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First, digital editor and host Wajahat S. Khan talks to Bhutto-Zardari (5:50), and then deputy editor Alice French interviews reporter Mitsuru Obe about the central banks' tactics, focusing on Japan, China and South Korea (21:41). Asia Stream is hosted by Wajahat S. Khan and produced by Monica Hunter-Hart, with a regular Tokyo Dispatch segment by Alice French.

Related to this episode:

Pakistan foreign minister: China debt is price of development, by Wajahat Khan

The money blizzard: Asia's central banks reckon with the aftermath of COVID-19, by Mitsuru Obe, Kim Jaewon and Francesca Regalado

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