เมื่อวันที่ 31 พฤษภาคม 2552 นายอภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ นายกรัฐมนตรี ได้ร่วมกล่าวถ้อยแถลงในการประชุมสุดยอดผู้นำด้านธุรกิจอาเซียน-สาธารณรัฐเกาหลี ที่เกาะเจจู ภายใต้หัวข้อ “Change, Challenge, and Collaboration for Asia’s Prosperity” ดังนี้
Your Excellency Mr. Lee Myung-bak,
President of the Republic of Korea,
Mr. Sohn Kyung Shik,
Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Excellencies, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It is a great pleasure and honour for me to give a keynote speech at this historic CEO Summit, which brings together leading CEOs from ASEAN and the ROK. I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation because I have always believed that there is a need for the private sector to play a greater role in restoring confidence and growth in our region. This visit also gives me a chance to get a glimpse of beautiful Jeju Island, a top honeymoon destination well-known for its natural beauty. The majestic landscape of this island has been used as the shooting location of many famous Korean films and dramas, which have gained large followings in the region, including my country Thailand.
2. I thank the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the warm reception and I appreciate the organising of this CEO Summit in conjunction with the Commemorative Summit.
3. The theme of this Summit is “Change, Challenge, and Collaboration for Asia’s Prosperity”. It captures the essence of what we face today, what we aim to overcome and achieve, and how we plan to bring about growth and prosperity.
Change
4. We are indeed living in days of constant change---be it in our environments and our surroundings, the adjustments of our roles and duties, the shifts in our economic focus and strategy, or the ever-changing linkages between political, economic and social dimensions of issues. With the influences that shape globalisation, the world is becoming ever more competitive and it now moves at a much quicker pace than in the past. Multilateral and bilateral relationships have intensified cooperation, but at the same time it has created many regulatory frameworks. The world is also increasingly unpredictable. Food and energy are becoming even more important determinants of global security, and climate change is also an issue that every country must pay attention to. And there is certainly always the need to ensure the stability in the global financial system.
Challenge
5. Our immediate challenge is how best to cope with change. The current global economic and financial crisis, definitely the toughest challenge we are facing, occurred because countries underestimated the risks and volatility that came with change. According to the recent forecast by the IMF, the global economy is expected to contract by 1.3% this year. This crisis is more complex due to greater economic interdependence and more advanced financial markets. As estimated by the IMF, the worldwide losses tied to bad loans and securitized assets may reach US$ 4.1 trillion by the end of 2010. The challenge is how national and international authorities will clean up the problem and bring back sustainable growth. This effort will involve restructuring and reform. More recently, another challenge, which was created by increasing contacts between people, is of pandemic diseases, currently Influenza A (H1N1).
Collaboration
6. We must collaborate--no country can take on these challenges alone. With tremendous worldwide losses, there may have to be a major overhaul in the global financial architecture and financial regulations. Financial regulatory standards within and across national borders would have to be strengthened, without affecting our basic market forces or slipping into overregulation. International financial institutions will have to undergo a radical reform and be equipped with sufficient resources to cope with the current crisis and to meet the future challenges, as well as to adequately reflect the growing economic weights of emerging and developing economies in the world economy through greater voice and representation. These issues have been discussed and addressed at the London Summit which I, as the ASEAN Chair, alongside with the President, also attended.
7. The key message that I would like to deliver to you all today is that crisis can bring about the courage to change. When we reach that very point, there would come new opportunity and strength for us to take steps that we cannot do in normal circumstances, such as embarking on reform of outdated institutions or strive towards the development of a green economy through green growth. In this connection, I wish to commend President Lee for his initiative on ASEAN-ROK Low-Carbon Green Growth Cooperation and other related programmes, such as East Asia Climate Partnership, which are indeed timely and innovative. I am also impressed with the President’s grand vision in the form of the “New Asia Initiative”. I am sure that ASEAN and the ROK can form a strategic partnership to realize these important initiatives.
8. In face of the global economic slowdown, the public and the private sectors need to work closely together to cope with the impact of the current crisis. For the case of Thailand, we recognise the importance of Public Private Partnership (PPP), especially as the tool to implement infrastructure development projects, and encourage the private sector to participate in these projects. Governments may open the door for increased trade and investment, but it is important for the private sectors to be the ones to use that door. The Thai government has also set up a new committee to look into the possible revisions of various laws that are needed to facilitate PPP, so that we can engage in more investment.
9. In carrying out this partnership, it is also important to consider the needs of our private sectors on issues like preparing for the free flow of skilled labour in the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. I am therefore pleased to hear that ASEAN labour officials are discussing development of skilled labour qualifications for the service industry. In time, this will work wonders for ASEAN and its economic relations with the ROK. Indeed, the top priority of our countries should be on investing in people. And despite the crisis, we in ASEAN are ready to focus on human resource development. In my country, one of the first measures I put in place when I assumed office as Prime Minister of Thailand was to initiate training programmes for the people, including labourers, to increase their skills.
Prospects
10. Compared with other regions, Asia’s financial system has been relatively less affected by the global financial crisis, owing to our strong fundamentals and reforms undertaken after the 1997 crisis. However, this current crisis will surely lead to tectonic changes in the global economic landscape.
11. The impact of the current crisis is still unfolding and may take some time to assess its full implication. I believe that Asia will emerge relatively stronger and the world’s economic dynamism will shift to Asia with East Asia as the hub. This is irreversible despite the crisis. In my view, the current crisis will not dampen, but hasten, the rise of Asia as the center of growth and prosperity. Prosperity should not only be on material wealth, but also sustainable economic development.
Excellencies, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Developments in ASEAN
12. The problems and challenges we face today require concerted regional efforts. Regional cooperation and integration are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. In East Asia, regional cooperation has been effectively driven through ASEAN-led fora and processes, namely ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. Through this concentric regional cooperation, ASEAN has been recognised as a driving force in the evolving multi-layered regional architecture. Therefore, ASEAN integration is important not only for ASEAN, but also for East Asia and beyond.
13. As the ASEAN Chair, I am proud of our recent achievements. At the 14th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am /Hua Hin, ASEAN Leaders signed the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on Roadmap to the ASEAN Community, which encompasses the blueprints of the ASEAN Community. The ASEAN Economic Community, to be realised by 2015, will establish ASEAN as a single market and production base, which shall comprise the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labour. As we move closer to the ASEAN Economic Community, we also hope that the private sector will play a much more active role.
14. With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter and the signing of the Cha-am/ Hua Hin Declaration on a Roadmap to the ASEAN Community in March 2009, ASEAN has transformed itself into a rules-based regional organisation. With a combined market of more than half a billion people, a combined GDP of over US$ 1.5 trillion and external trade of over US$ 1.66 trillion, ASEAN is indeed a force to be reckoned with. There are ample trade and investment opportunities in ASEAN to be explored and harnessed by the Korean business sector.
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ASEAN-ROK Relations
15. For the past two decades, the ROK has indeed been one of ASEAN’s most important and active partners. In 2005, we began our work to establish a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. Since then, progress has been made. The Agreement on Trade in Goods was signed in 2006, followed by Agreement on Trade in Services in 2007. I am glad that, in two days during the Commemorative Summit, we will have the Agreement on Investment which will complete the goal of establishing the ASEAN-ROK FTA.
16. Our growing economic ties are also strong and tangible. In 2008, our bilateral trade reached US$ 90.2 billion, while investment flows amounted to US$ 6.8 billion. The ROK is ASEAN’s fifth largest trading partner and fourth largest investor. In light of the global economic and financial crisis, we need to work more closely together to ensure that our trade and investment ties will not be seriously affected. This Summit provides a good opportunity for leading business representatives from ASEAN and the ROK to explore ways and means to further enhance our trade and to embark on strategic investment. It will also provide a forum to develop networking for mutual benefits and full maximisation of opportunities and potentials available under the FTA.
17. As we work on trade issues and complete the FTA, I would like to highlight the need for both ASEAN and ROK businesspeople to be aware of the proper contexts in conducting businesses in each other’s countries, as well as to study markets and really get to know the people. Despite language barriers, we share a common Asian culture and our people are determined to strengthen the bonds of friendship and to advance trade relations. The establishment of the ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul, to promote trade, investment, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, is another important development in ASEAN-ROK relations.
18. These people-to-people exchanges have indeed been going on. In 2007, more than 3.5 million tourists from the ROK visited ASEAN, making the ROK the fourth largest tourist market for ASEAN. With the rise of the Korean Wave, or “Hallyu” sweeping across East Asia, a growing number of tourists from ASEAN are eager to visit Korea. Many Korean industrial products, such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Daewoo, are already household names in most countries in ASEAN. There is also the potential for more collaboration in the energy, construction, and IT for healthcare sector. We should also think about more intensified value chain and industrial cooperation. Enhancing mutual awareness and promoting greater exchange between our peoples, especially the youths and businesses, particularly SMEs, are important in advancing the ASEAN-ROK relations. In my view, there are still many of opportunities to be explored by both sides.
19. The ROK is not only the active partner of ASEAN, but also a major player in ASEAN-led regional fora and frameworks. They have also been quick and timely in addressing the challenges of the times. A recent example was just earlier this month on 8 May 2009, when Thailand, as ASEAN Chair, was honoured to host the ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers’ Special Meeting on Influenza A (H1N1) in Bangkok. It is important to note that the idea of building an East Asian community was first proposed by an East Asia Vision Group initiated by the ROK to bring Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian countries closer together to build a solid framework for regional cooperation and integration. Since its inception in 1997 in the middle of the financial crisis, the ASEAN Plus Three process has become a major vehicle in moving forward cooperation in East Asia and in jointly addressing the financial crisis.
20. To ensure that countries in the region could better assist one another as they did in the 1997 financial crisis, the Chiang Mai Initiative was introduced in 2000 as a network of bilateral currency swap arrangements to assist ASEAN Plus Three countries that experience a short-term liquidity problem. Again in early May, the ASEAN Plus Three Finance Ministers met in Bali and agreed to expedite the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation with an initial fund of US$ 120 billion before the end of this year. As part of this effort, a regional surveillance mechanism will be strengthened and institutionalised to promote objective economic monitoring.
21. The East Asia Free Trade Area under the ASEAN Plus Three framework is currently under a Phase II feasibility study led by the ROK. If realised, it could help boost our intra-regional trade and reduce the so-called “spaghetti bowl” effect arising from the growing number of bilateral FTAs. It is important to note that there is a great complementarity, both in our production base and in trade and investment, between Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian economies. With more cooperation and integration, we are stronger.
Excellencies, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
22. Last month, President Lee mentioned to a world leader that “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. And I would also mention the Korean proverb that “Even a sheet of paper seems lighter when two people lift it together”. This reflects the fact that in Korean culture, like many other cultures in Asia, cooperation is highly revered. Our collaboration is beyond borders; we should therefore think regionally and act globally. Together, ASEAN and Korea can move ahead.
23. Today, we face a deepening recession and a threat of a global pandemic. We can overcome the challenges ahead by cooperating on issues that are of common interest and concern and having meaningful and constructive dialogue. This CEO Summit, in which leading businesspeople will engage in dialogue with government leaders, is the kind of activity that should be encouraged and supported. I look forward to all of your valuable suggestions and concrete recommendations. To this end, I wish this CEO Summit every success.
24. May I stress once again that all sectors of society, public and the private, will have to join hands to overcome the current crisis. Let me end by saying that unless we cooperate, we would not be able to meet the challenges of change. When we cooperate, we learn from each other and the result is multiplied. When we cooperate, we’ll get more than what we expect. So let us cooperate to elevate ASEAN-ROK relations to an even higher plane. The time is now, as our relations will mark its 20th anniversary this year.
Thank you very much.
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