World Economic Forum kicks off
The World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 opens its doors on May 30 in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. The three-day conference is themed ‘Shaping the Region’s Future through Connectivity’ and provides a stage for discussions on the creation of a single regional market under the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Scheduled to speak at the forum are – apart from Thailand’s prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra – the leaders of Indonesia, Laos and Bahrain as well as Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN secretary-general, Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairwoman of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, is also set to attend the forum in what is her first trip abroad after 24 years, and expected to hold a speech to WEF delegates. Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, who has also been invited to attend the forum to speak on his country’s new open-door policy, has reportedly cancelled his trip due to Suu Kyi’s attendance.
In total, more than 700 government leaders, business executives, delegates and media representatives from around the world are expected to gather at the meeting. Among the participants are leaders from nine ASEAN countries and its six dialogue partners, namely China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India, as well as the prime ministers of Mongolia and Bahrain. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund will also join the meeting, as well as executives of leading Thai companies such as PTT, Thai Airways, Bangkok Bank and Ch. Karnchang.
Major topics to be discussed include ‘Rethinking Regional Models for a New Global Context’, ‘Responding to a Region at Risk’, and ‘Realising Regional Connectivity’. Discussions will also touch on the issues of how to handle natural disasters such as floods.
Before Thailand, Singapore hosted this forum seven times. Malaysia hosted it in 2008, Vietnam in 2010, and Indonesia in 2011.
[caption id="attachment_3209" align="alignleft" width="278" caption="Myanmar's opposition leader San Suu Kyi will deliver a speech at the World Economic Forum in Bangkok after leaving Myanmar for the first time in 24 years"][/caption] The World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 opens its doors on May 30 in Thailand's capital Bangkok. The three-day conference is themed 'Shaping the Region's Future through Connectivity' and provides a stage for discussions on the creation of a single regional market under the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. Scheduled to speak at the forum are - apart from Thailand's prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra - the leaders of...
The World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 opens its doors on May 30 in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. The three-day conference is themed ‘Shaping the Region’s Future through Connectivity’ and provides a stage for discussions on the creation of a single regional market under the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Scheduled to speak at the forum are – apart from Thailand’s prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra – the leaders of Indonesia, Laos and Bahrain as well as Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN secretary-general, Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairwoman of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, is also set to attend the forum in what is her first trip abroad after 24 years, and expected to hold a speech to WEF delegates. Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, who has also been invited to attend the forum to speak on his country’s new open-door policy, has reportedly cancelled his trip due to Suu Kyi’s attendance.
In total, more than 700 government leaders, business executives, delegates and media representatives from around the world are expected to gather at the meeting. Among the participants are leaders from nine ASEAN countries and its six dialogue partners, namely China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India, as well as the prime ministers of Mongolia and Bahrain. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund will also join the meeting, as well as executives of leading Thai companies such as PTT, Thai Airways, Bangkok Bank and Ch. Karnchang.
Major topics to be discussed include ‘Rethinking Regional Models for a New Global Context’, ‘Responding to a Region at Risk’, and ‘Realising Regional Connectivity’. Discussions will also touch on the issues of how to handle natural disasters such as floods.
Before Thailand, Singapore hosted this forum seven times. Malaysia hosted it in 2008, Vietnam in 2010, and Indonesia in 2011.
