Progress toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 has been significantly set back by the pandemic. It is estimated that countries will invest over USD 20 trillion to recover from the fallout of COVID-19. More importantly, the choices made on these investments and whether “sustainability” is at the heart of these choices will fundamentally determine whether we can truly rebuild forward more resilient and sustainable economies post-Covid-19 pandemic. Delivering on the ambitious SDGs is a formidable challenge for countries at every stage of development. In addition, for the SDGs to be the primary responsibility and to be truly owned by the developing countries, the goals will clearly need to be adapted to local contexts. This was the primary motivation for the collaborative endeavour between the external authors and the ICMR team, led by chief editor, Distinguished Professor Dato’ Dr Rajah Rasiah who was also the first recipient of ICMR’s fellowship programme to produce the edited book “Financing Sustainability: Critical Issues with East Asian Experiences”. In dissecting the experience of a high-income economy and some middle-and low-income economies in East and Southeast Asia, the book was aimed at linking evidence with strategies and mechanisms in countries with different development levels. The panel discussion aims to bridge the thematic ideas of the published book with the current realities of building back stronger from the pandemic.