Georg Schmitt, Lead Corporate Affairs, Tel.: +41 (0)79 571 8287, Email: georg.schmitt@weforum.org
· The 25th World Economic Forum on ASEAN will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 1-2 June
· More than 550 leaders from business, public sector, academia, civil society and media to attend
· The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its implications for ASEAN countries take centre stage at the meeting
· For more information about the meeting: http://wef.ch/asean16
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26 May 2016 – The 25th World Economic Forum on ASEAN will explore how Southeast Asia and the newly formed ASEAN Economic Community can lay the foundation for the region to play a greater role on the global stage and prepare its societies for the profound changes brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The meeting will take place in Kuala Lumpur on 1-2 June under the theme “Shaping the ASEAN Agenda for Inclusion and Growth”.
“With its young workforce, ASEAN has strong foundations for future growth. But the global context is changing and the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring new challenges. The strong potential of the ASEAN region will only be realised if government and business can collectively craft appropriate responses,” said Justin Wood, Head of Asia-Pacific at the World Economic Forum.
The meeting programme will evolve around the three pillars: “Driving Sustainable Growth and Social Inclusion”, “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and “Strengthening Regional Relationships”. The Forum will launch new reports on the Future of Jobs in ASEAN, Inclusive Growth as well as Barriers to Investment in Airlines.
Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia will be joined by several members of his cabinet, including the ministers for industry and trade, foreign affairs, health, defence, transport and energy. Rui Maria de Araújo, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of Indonesia and Trinh Dinh Dung, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam are among the more than 40 public figures.
“We had formally established the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of last year and it remains a work in progress. It is my hope that the hosting of this year’s World Economic Forum on ASEAN will provide the catalyst to generate new ideas that could help promote deeper economic integration within the region. We need to continue pushing the envelope and promoting a broader vision of a more inclusive ASEAN”, said Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Industry and Trade of Malaysia.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN are: Sigve Brekke, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor, Norway; Kathleen Chew, Group Legal Counsel, YTL Corporation Berhad, Malaysia; Yoshiaki Fujimori, President and Chief Executive Officer, LIXIL Group Corporation, Japan; Shahril bin Shamsuddin, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad, Malaysia; Salil Shetty, Secretary-General, Amnesty International, United Kingdom and George Yeo, Visiting Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Other key participants include: Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Hans-Paul Bürkner, Global Chairman, The Boston Consulting Group, Anthony Fernandes, Group CEO Air Asia and Michelle Yeoh, Actress and Cultural Leader.
The Grow Asia, a joint initiative by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN Secretariat will hold a high-level meeting with several Ministers of Agriculture on 31st of May in Kuala Lumpur.
Notes to Editors
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· Click here for the Meeting Overview and Programme at a Glance
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