ASEAN urged to step up R&D, connectivity
ASEAN countries will need to improve in innovation and research & development as well as to set up better connectivity in many areas in order to boost economic growth and cooperation, officials at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Bangkok last week said.
Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN secretary-general, told WEF delegates at a speech that ASEAN countries, apart from Singapore, need to spend far more on innovation and R&D as these sectors were drivers of future economic growth and the current allocation of many ASEAN nations’ budgets was too little.
While Singapore spends 2.6 per cent of its GDP on R&D, which is in line with international benchmarks, all other ASEAN member spend below one per cent, with Thailand being last on the list with only 0.1 to 0.2 per cent R&D spending of GDP.
In comparison, Japan spends more than three per cent, South Korea 3.4 per cent and China 1.6 per cent.
More effort put into innovation and R&D is the prerequisite to attract more foreign investment into the region, Pitsuwan said. It would be hard to break out of the middle-income trap if R&D spending remains on such low levels, he added.
An another note, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a WEF speech that ASEAN countries have to improve connectivity in many areas if they want the planned ASEAN Economic Community to prosper. He said that the bloc needs to step up collaboration in areas such as transportation, food security, trade, energy, information technology, banking, education, innovation and social media, according to the Bangkok Post.
Yudhoyono also said Europe’s economic woes could hit Southeast Asia and warned the region against copying the integrated eurozone model.
Yudhoyono told the Wall Street Journal that the slowdown in China’s economic growth, stoked by weak demand from Europe, will “impact directly on the economy in this region”.
He added that ASEAN “has to learn from what happened in Europe” when the ten-member association will enter the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
[caption id="attachment_3285" align="alignleft" width="300"] The ten ASEAN members need to improve cooperation and R&D spending to be prepared for global competition (click to enlarge)[/caption] ASEAN countries will need to improve in innovation and research & development as well as to set up better connectivity in many areas in order to boost economic growth and cooperation, officials at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Bangkok last week said. Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN secretary-general, told WEF delegates at a speech that ASEAN countries, apart from Singapore, need to spend far more on innovation and R&D as these sectors were drivers of...
ASEAN countries will need to improve in innovation and research & development as well as to set up better connectivity in many areas in order to boost economic growth and cooperation, officials at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Bangkok last week said.
Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN secretary-general, told WEF delegates at a speech that ASEAN countries, apart from Singapore, need to spend far more on innovation and R&D as these sectors were drivers of future economic growth and the current allocation of many ASEAN nations’ budgets was too little.
While Singapore spends 2.6 per cent of its GDP on R&D, which is in line with international benchmarks, all other ASEAN member spend below one per cent, with Thailand being last on the list with only 0.1 to 0.2 per cent R&D spending of GDP.
In comparison, Japan spends more than three per cent, South Korea 3.4 per cent and China 1.6 per cent.
More effort put into innovation and R&D is the prerequisite to attract more foreign investment into the region, Pitsuwan said. It would be hard to break out of the middle-income trap if R&D spending remains on such low levels, he added.
An another note, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a WEF speech that ASEAN countries have to improve connectivity in many areas if they want the planned ASEAN Economic Community to prosper. He said that the bloc needs to step up collaboration in areas such as transportation, food security, trade, energy, information technology, banking, education, innovation and social media, according to the Bangkok Post.
Yudhoyono also said Europe’s economic woes could hit Southeast Asia and warned the region against copying the integrated eurozone model.
Yudhoyono told the Wall Street Journal that the slowdown in China’s economic growth, stoked by weak demand from Europe, will “impact directly on the economy in this region”.
He added that ASEAN “has to learn from what happened in Europe” when the ten-member association will enter the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
