SINGAPORE - Top experts from around the globe will offer insights into how countries can navigate the risks in an increasingly fraught geopolitical landscape at The Straits Times’ inaugural Asia Future Summit next Tuesday.
Talks delivered by more than a dozen distinguished guests, prominent scholars and thought leaders at the one-day summit will centre on three main themes: geopolitics, technology and culture.
Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo will open the summit.
Malaysia’s caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz will deliver a pre-recorded speech addressing the myriad challenges facing Asia and Malaysia, providing ideas for steering governments and economies through the stormy days ahead.
“While many economies, including Malaysia’s, are recovering strongly post-pandemic, growth is still not broad-based or inclusive across all socio-economic sectors.
“Malaysia’s growth momentum, as well as its socio-economic reform agenda, will be severely tested with the projected global slowdown in 2023,” said Datuk Seri Zafrul.
He is unable to attend the summit in person as he is set to contest in Malaysia’s general election on Nov 19.
The former chief executive of CIMB Group added: “Domestically, fiscal policy must continue to be expansionary.
“Policymakers must be responsive in protecting jobs and assisting the vulnerable in coping with inflation, while also being fiscally responsible and giving focus to any reform agenda to build resilience for any future economic storm.”
He also urged better monetary policy coordination between developed and emerging economies, as this is crucial in tackling global issues such as poverty and climate change, as well as income and healthcare disparities.
The programmes at the forum include panel discussions and deep dives into some of Asia’s most pressing questions.
These include: How badly will the region be hit if the United States falls into recession? Is China nearing a push for reunification with Taiwan as Sino-US tensions rise, and what can Asean do to avoid getting embroiled in an East-West conflict?
And as boundaries blur between the physical and digital worlds, how can societies work to preserve human creativity and critical thinking?
Speakers include US military strategist Edward Luttwak; Harvard University professor and former US defence official Graham Allison; Indonesia’s former foreign minister Marty Natalegawa; Chinese think-tank Centre for China and Globalisation’s founder and president Henry Wang Huiyao; and Chinese science fiction writer Stanley Chen Qiufan.
The slate of speakers also includes veteran Singapore diplomats Chan Heng Chee and Tommy Koh; China and South-east Asia historian Wang Gungwu; as well as OCBC Bank’s head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling.
Dr Tan See Leng – Singapore’s Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry and the guest of honour at the summit – will discuss how Asia can seize opportunities amid today’s uncertainties.
OCBC Bank is the premier sponsor of the event.
The day-long summit next Tuesday will be held at the Stamford Ballroom of the Raffles City Convention Centre.
It will gather about 250 attendees, including diplomats, bankers, entrepreneurs and ST subscribers.
