The COVID-19 Pandemic calls for a multi-sectoral response in Asia and the Pacific to protect people and enhance resilience, support economic recovery and restore supply chains and support SMEs. Shipping and ports are a major part of such a response. For most countries in Asia and the Pacific, shipping represents a doorway to global economy. In many cases, especially in SIDS, shipping is a lifeline linking local communities to the regional and global markets and sustaining local social and economic development. Continued and efficient shipping and port operations are, therefore, crucial both for short term policy response to the Pandemic and for speedy and sustainable recovery.