ASEAN-Australia: The Road to Recovery
Webinar
Asialink at the University of Melbourne, together with the ASEAN Committee in Canberra and the ASEAN-Australia Council, are delighted to commemorate this year’s ASEAN Day with an interactive live event with eminent government and business leaders from ASEAN and Australia as they discuss the way forward for our region as we grapple with COVID-19 and its aftermath.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established on 8 August 1967, comprises the ten Member States of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. ASEAN collectively represents the world’s third largest market, after China and India, and is poised to become the fourth largest economy by 2030. Australia is ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner and ties have grown in strength and substance, with Australia as a major trading partner and investor in ASEAN. As Australia’s and ASEAN’s economic and strategic interests remain inextricably linked, so do our paths to recovery.
As we come to grips with the enduring impacts of the pandemic, businesses and governments in Australia and ASEAN need to reimagine what post-COVID-19 economic growth will look like and where the challenges and opportunities lie. Structural economic shifts already underway have been accelerated by the pandemic: with physical borders likely to remain closed for some time, companies will need to embrace digital platforms, but at the same time need reliable logistics for raw materials and delivery of finished products. The digital economy and resilient supply chain and logistics are therefore two sides to the same coin.
The 2018 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney aptly identified the benefits of deepening trade and investment, growing the digital economy, and strengthening the security of supply chains. It thus follows that ASEAN-Australia cooperation and economic integration should hasten, with the digital economy and resilient supply chain and logistics as clear growth areas for ASEAN and Australian businesses in the post-COVID-19 recovery.
Keynote Speakers:
- Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment
- HE Dato’ Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Panellists:
- Ms Christine Holgate, Chair, Australia-ASEAN Council Board
- Mr David Thodey AO, Deputy Chair, National COVID-19 Coordination
- HE Mahendra Siregar, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia
- Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid, Chairman of CIMB ASEAN Research Institute
Web Link: Available upon registration.
The web link can be accessed from 1.15pm on 18 August. The event will commence at 1.30pm.
Registration link made available by invitation only.