The Trilateral Commission Singapore Plenary Meeting

Since its establishment in 1973, the Trilateral Commission has been bringing together leading private citizens from Europe, North America and Pacific Asia to foster closer cooperation among the three regions and to carry out policy dialogue and research on issues of common concern to the international community. The 49th plenary meeting of the Trilateral Commission will be held in Singapore at the Fullerton Hotel from Friday, 23 March to Sunday, 25 March, with more than 230 participants and guests.

Keynote Speech

• Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
• Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of Singapore

Topics of Discussion

• Future Economic Development in Asia:
  – Belt & Road Initiative
  – Collaboration between ADB & AIIB
• Changing Security Environment in Northeast Asia
• Political & Economic Developments in the US and in Europe
• Global Governance and Leadership:
  – Global Security in the Face of Geopolitical Instability and Terrorism
  – Trilemma of Globalisation/Democracy/National Sovereignty
• AI Revolution: Its Impact on the Society
• Powershift in Asia Pacific

About The Trilateral Commission

The Trilateral Commission was formed in 1973 by private citizens of Japan, Europe (EC countries), and North America (United States and Canada) to foster closer cooperation among these core democratic industrialized areas of the world with shared leadership responsibilities in the wider international system. Originally established for three years, our work has been renewed for successive triennia (three-year periods), most recently for a triennium to be completed in 2015.

When the first triennium of the Trilateral Commission was launched in 1973, the most immediate purpose was to draw together—at a time of considerable friction among governments—the highest level unofficial group possible to look together at the key common problems facing our three areas. At a deeper level, there was a sense that the United States was no longer in such a singular leadership position as it had been in earlier post-World War II years, and that a more shared form of leadership—including Europe and Japan in particular—would be needed for the international system to navigate successfully the major challenges of the coming years.

Two strong convictions guide our thinking in the new century. First, the Trilateral Commission remains as important as ever in helping our countries fulfill their shared leadership responsibilities in the wider international system and, second, its framework needs to be widened to reflect broader changes in the world. Thus, the Japan Group has become an Asia Pacific Group, and Mexican members have been added to the North American Group. The European Group continues to widen in line with the enlargement of the EU. We are also continuing in this triennium our practice of inviting a number of participants from other key areas.

The “growing interdependence” that so impressed the founders of the Trilateral Commission in the early 1970s is deepening into “globalization.” The need for shared thinking and leadership by the Trilateral countries, who (along with the principal international organizations) remain the primary anchors of the wider international system, has not diminished but, if anything, intensified. At the same time, their leadership must change to take into account the dramatic transformation of the international system. As relations with other countries become more mature—and power more diffuse—the leadership tasks of the original Trilateral countries need to be carried out with others to an increasing extent.

The members of the Trilateral Commission are about 400 distinguished leaders in business, media, academia, public service (excluding current national Cabinet Ministers), labor unions, and other non-governmental organizations from the three regions. The regional Chairmen, Deputy Chairmen, and Directors constitute the leadership of the Trilateral Commission, along with an Executive Committee and Treasurer including 67 other members.

The annual meeting of Trilateral Commission members rotates among the three regions. The agendas for these meetings have addressed a wide range of issues, an indication of how broadly we see the partnership among our countries.

The project work of the Trilateral Commission generally involves teams of authors from our three regions working together for a year or so on draft reports which are discussed in draft form in the annual meeting and then published. The authors typically consult with many others in the course of their work. The task force reports (Triangle Papers) to the Trilateral Commission have covered a wide range of topics.

The regional groups within the Trilateral Commission carry on some activities of their own. The European Group, with its secretariat based in Paris, has a regional meeting each fall. The North American Group, with its secretariat based in Washington D.C. began North American regional meetings in 2002 and occasionally gathers with a special speaker for a dinner or luncheon event. The new Asia Pacific Group, with its secretariat based in Tokyo, began regional meetings in 2000. Each region carries on its own fund-raising to provide the financial support needed for the Trilateral Commission’s work.