15th ASEAN Leadership Forum

28 April 2018

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 April 2018 – The Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) together with co-organisers S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Social Innovation Park, and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will hold the 15^th ASEAN Leadership Forum on the 28^th of April 2018. The forum, themed “Future Proof ASEAN: Strengthening Resilience, Promoting Innovation & Moving Forward the Digital Space”, will be at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore.

The ASEAN Leadership Forum (ALF) is an annual, high-level forum held around ASEAN’s April summit meeting. Now into its 15^th edition, the 2018 ALF will be held in Singapore in conjunction with its term as ASEAN’s Chairman. The ALF will bring together leaders from government, business, academia, think tanks and civil society to discuss future challenges facing ASEAN in the new global era of digital disruption. It will also discuss the 4C’s of ASEAN – community, charter, connectivity and centrality – debating how can ASEAN move forward with the 4C’s to create a sustainable and inclusive ASEAN? What more needs to be done to realise the ASEAN 2025 vision? Where do we go from here?

Against the massive, phenomenal disruptions taking place across the globe, ASEAN has not been a laggard. With the world’s third largest population, 70 percent of whom are under 40 years of age, ASEAN is large and still growing. It is one of the fastest growing Internet regions in the world, with an expected 480 million users by 2020. It has the fastest growing working-age population and is estimated to add 50 million people between 2010 and 2020. Many of these workers are highly mobile, digital savvy, and have different perspectives on what constitutes a fulfilling career.

The forum, which is divided into an all-day conference and evening gala dinner, will feature Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman at RSIS and former ASEAN Secretary-General as the opening speaker at the conference. Speaking at the conference are high-level speakers from government including H.E. Enggartiasto Lukita, Indonesian Minister of Trade; The Rt. Hon. Greg Hand MP, Minister of State in the Department for International Trade in the UK; Hon. Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade & Industry, Singapore; Dr Wang Huiyao, Councillor to the State Council of China / President of the Centre for China & Globalisation in Beijing; Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid, Chairman of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad and CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI); and Dr Robert Yap, Chairman of ABAC and Executive Chairman of YCH Group, Singapore.

Giving the Special Dinner Address at the gala dinner will be the Hon. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Michael Yeoh, Chairman of the ASEAN Leadership Forum and CEO of ASLI will be giving a citation for the Special ASEAN Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award to be awarded to the Hon. Goh Chok Tong, Second Prime Minister and Emeritus Senior Minister of Singapore for his exemplary service and long record of accomplishments as Prime Minister, Member of Parliament and former ASEAN Chairman.

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