The inaugural East Asia Summit held on 14 December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur may be a harbinger for Asia to take its first step in the long journey towards pan-Asian Integration. Fostering pan-Asian integration is a collective effort that will require all partners to work together. For any meaningful impact, the pan-Asian integration should have a wider agenda, which could cover broad strategic issues, such as consequences of globalization, development cooperation and combating transnational threats like communicable diseases and crime. The impetus must come from within and its success hinges partly on the role each partner has to play in the process.

This 75-minute interactive panel discussion, co-organized by ASEAN Secretariat and RIS provides opportunities for leading Asian thinkers to share their vision, ideas and strategies for shaping the concept of pan-Asian integration in ways that will best maintain its economic dynamism, enhance regional security and preserve peace and stability among themselves.

Some of the issues that could be deliberated include:

1.	What is Pan-Asian Integration? Is the concept realistic? What is needed to bring the concept to fruition?
2.	Why ASEAN is uniquely-placed to play this role of a hub for Pan-Asian Integration and how the ASEAN Community, to be established by 2020, will be crucial for the integration?
3.	How has the ASEAN dialogue process contributed to the evolvement of Pan-Asian Integration? What is the role of the dialogue partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand) in Pan-Asian Integration?
4.	Can the proliferation of regional and bilateral FTAs contribute to the strengthening of Pan-Asian Integration? Are they building or stumbling blocks?
5.	How do we reconcile existing regional arrangements such as the East Asia Summit, APEC, ARF and ASEAN+3?

Programme

Welcome Remarks by co-organizers (ASEAN Secretariat and RIS)

Distinguished Panelists

Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of ADB
Mr Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Singapore PR at UN

Moderator:

Dr Rodolfo Severino, Former Secretary-General, ASEAN