Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei-based Asia Inc Forum convened its annual flagship regional event, the Asean 100 Leadership Forum, last Wednesday in Bangkok, Thailand, attended by Thailand's Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Acting Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board, Dato Timothy Ong.

With this year's theme of "Asean Integration in the Face of Global Crisis", the forum is a by-invitation gathering of the region's key figures and next-generation leaders who will collectively shape the future of Asean.

During the opening dinner and dialogue with the prime minister moderated by Dato Timothy Ong, Prime Minister Abhisit explained how the Thai government was responding to the crisis with recovery plans and stimulus packages to finance multiple projects from 2009 to 2012.

He stressed that the financial crisis has greatly impacted the Thai economy, which took a severe hit with a sharp fall in production and exports. The stimulus packages, stressed the prime minister, would create more job opportunities and enhance the country's competitiveness in the long run. The prime minister highlighted that in the past 10 months, Asean has been clear and firm in responding to the challenges posed by the crisis. Asean's integration agenda continues forward, although more work remains to be done.

As the Chair ofAsean, he calls for support and pressure from the business community and Asean's people to ensure that the region keeps the course of closer collaboration and integration.

When posed with the question about Thailand's role in Asean, the Prime Minister responded that Thailand is proud to have been part of the overall process of Asean from its very beginning.

He mentioned that Thailand has played some very vital roles for the region, including initiating some of the important processes that have made Asean integration more concrete, more relevant and more responsive to the region's need.

He also advocated that Thailand would continue to play an active role as a coordinator of the region - be it at the regional level or the global level. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva holds a Masters degree in Economics and a Bachelors degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (First Class Honours) from Oxford University in the UK. His political career began when he became the first Democrat MP for Bangkok and the government spokesman from 1992 to 1994, during then-prime minister Chuan Leekpai's tenure.

The forum's second day continued with high-level discussions on the economic challenges resulting from the crisis, leadership for changing times, and a debate on the practice of Asean's non-interference principle.

Leading figures who took part included Hon Korn Chatikavanij, the Minister of Finance of Thailand; Dato Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group; PK Basu, Managing Director, Daiwa Securities SMBC; Dato Sri Tony Fernandes, Director and Group CEO, AirAsia; Sandiaga Uno, Founding Partner, Saratoga Capital, Indonesia; Senator Francis Pangilinan of the Philippine Senate; Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Governor of Cebu, Philippines, as well as other key figures from business, government and civil societies. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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