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MEMBERS
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean),
along with their East Asian dialogue partners, have
established a regional think tank that will provide
intellectual and capacity-building support for the
creation of an Asean single-market economy by 2015.
Asean
secretary-general Dr. Surin Pitsuwan said the regional
think tank, called Economic Research Institute for Asean
and East Asia (Eria), will focus on the three pillars of
the Asean economic community that seeks to deepen
integration, narrow the development gaps and promote
sustainable development in East Asia.
Among
the first issues to be addressed by the Asean think tank
are the escalating oil and food prices, energy security
and infrastructure development.
The
establishment of the think tank was witnessed by members
of its governing board at an inaugural meeting last week
at the Asean secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. The
board comprises the Asean secretary general and the
eminent individuals from the government, business and
academia of the 16 countries participating in the East
Asia Summit (EAS).
Dr.
Surin emphasized the role of Eria in building the
intellectual foundation for East Asian integration and
its contribution to the establishment of the Asean
economic community by 2015 in terms of “policy-oriented
and strategic economic research and capacity building.”
He said
the regional think tank “would help to create the
world’s largest business space in a vibrant and more
integrated
East Asia.”
The
Asean secretary general emphasized that the “Asean
economic integration is the key to wider regional
integration.”
“Asean’s
role as a driver of regionalism and a hub creating
linkages among Australia, China, India, Japan, South
Korea and New Zealand has brought the best out of their
individual contributions to East Asian community
building,” said Dr. Surin in a statement issued by the
Asean secretariat.
Participating countries in the East Asia Summit include
Asean members the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and
Burma/Myanmar and their regional dialogue partners
Japan,
South Korea, China, Australia, India and New Zealand.
Japanese
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Eria is designed to be
a think tank, similar to what the Paris-based
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) is to the developed world.
The
Japanese government will finance the operations of Eria
for its first decade.
Dr. Dinh
Van An, president of Central Institute for Economic
Management of Vietnam, was elected as the first
chairperson of the Eria governing board for the first
three years. At the same time, Hidetoshi Nishimura,
special assistant to the chairman of Japan External
Trade Organization on Eria Matters, was appointed
executive director of the Asean think tank. |
