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International Conference on 10-11 March 2003
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RIS organized the International Conference on "Building a New Asia: Towards an Asian Economic Community" on March 10-11, 2003 in New Delhi. The Conference was organized in collaboration with the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, and with the support of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan. Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Chairman, RIS delivered the inaugural address at the Conference. Hon’ble Mr. Koichi Kato, former Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan delivered the keynote address. Hon’ble Shri I.K. Gujral, the former Prime Minister of India, delivered the valedictory address. Ambassador S.T. Devare, Vice-Chairman, RIS and Dr Nagesh Kumar, Director-General also addressed the inaugural session. A delegation of the distinguished conference participants also called on Hon’ble Shri Yashwant Sinha, External Affairs Minister of India at his office. The Conference had the participation of about 120 including senior scholars, experts and policy makers from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand besides India, representing leading policy think-tanks of the region. The first session on "The Relevance of the Asian Economic Community" was chaired by Hon’ble Mr Koichi Kato at which Dr Nagesh Kumar presented the theme paper on the Relevance of the Asian Economic Community. This presentation was followed by observations by four distinguished panelists, viz. Ambassador Pang Eng Fong (Singapore), Dr. K. Govindan (of PM’s Department Malaysia), Dr. Yunjong Wang (KIEP, Korea) and Ambassador A.N. Ram (India). Ambassador Shashank, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India chaired the second session on "Asian Identity and the Sub-regional Perspectives". Professor Muchkund Dubey, Chairman, Council for Social Development, chaired the third session which had a panel discussion on regional cooperation in multilateral arrangements especially in agriculture, labour and environment. The fourth session, chaired by Ambassador K. Kesavapany, Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, addressed the theme of regional cooperation in finance and monetary policy. The fifth session on regional cooperation in trade, investment, technology and skills was chaired by Dr Mohammad Ariff, Executive Director, MIER. Professor S.L. Rao, former Chairman, Central Electricity Regulatory Authority, India chaired the sixth session on corporate governance and financial restructuring in Asia. At the concluding session, chaired by Ambassador S.T. Devare, a general discussion on the way forward took place. A Delhi Consensus, summarizing the general agreement at the Conference as well as follow-up action points, was also adopted. RIS is planning to bring out the proceedings of the Conference in a book form. Follow-up action, as mandated by the Conference, will be taken up soon. |
-- Programme & Presentations |
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