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| More than 500 participants, including 40 government ministers, three heads of state and two deputy heads of state and 400 chief executives are gathered for the two-day meeting, which began in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (01/06). (Photo courtesy of the World Economic Forum) |
Kuala Lumpur. Integration, inclusivity and reform are the key themes of the 25th meeting of the World Economic Forum on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.
More than
500 participants, including 40 government ministers, three heads of state and
two deputy heads of state and 400 chief executives are gathered for the two-day
meeting, which began on Wednesday (01/06).
In opening
the conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak noted that the global
focus was now squarely on Asean as the regional grouping moved towards greater
economic integration.
Collectively
the 10 members of Asean have a gross domestic product of $2.3 trillion, making
them the seventh-largest economy in the world. With a population of 600
million, Asean is also the world's fourth-largest consumer market.
"We
know what we are and we know where we want to go, but do we have the
determination to reform our economies to claim the prize?" Razak said.
"The great opportunity and promise will not miraculously appear without
continued efforts to reform, liberalize and integrate our economies."
He added
that as a result, greater efforts needed to be undertaken by all member
countries in lowering trade barriers and fostering more openness.
Razak cited
the example of how Asean member states have reduced tariffs on imports to near
zero but non-tariff barriers have tripled. "The AEC [Asean Economic
Community] will never reach true fruition if we do not eradicate these
barriers," Razak said. "In short, what is required is nothing short
of a complete transformation of Asean."
Speaking on
the same panel as the Malaysian prime minister, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf
Kalla said Asean was moving from cooperation to integration but that the
process would require time and effort.
Kalla added
that for fuller integration, Asean member states will need to discuss
standardization of regulations as well as fostering greater connectivity.
"In
Indonesia, our philosophy is equity and equality and we are working very hard
to create more inclusive growth," he said.
To this
end, the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is focusing on
infrastructure development, improving the agriculture sector and boosting
manufacturing.
The vice
president added however, that Asean needs to juggle between cooperation and
competitiveness as a number of countries in the regional bloc are competing for
the same investments.
"We
should not allow investors to push our labor costs down and force members to
compete against each other," he noted. As a possible solution, Kalla
floated the idea of having coordinated minimum wages across the region.
South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”
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“… Human Nature is Changing
There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.
We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.
We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.
South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”
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