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ACD
Think Tanks Symposium
“Towards
Asian Dynamism: the Potentials of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue”
15-17
December 2004
Royal
Orchid Sheraton Hotel, Bangkok
Background
The
Asia Cooperation Dialogue was conceived in June 2002 with the aim of promoting
interdependence among Asian countries in all areas of cooperation by identifying
Asia’s common strengths and opportunities in order to improve the quality of
life for Asian people and in turn to create a prosperous and peaceful Asian
community. Initially, the ACD comprised 18 member countries, namely Bahrain,
Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
China, India,
Indonesia, Japan,
Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Pakistan,
the Philippines, Qatar,
Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam. Since then, seven
more countries have joined, i.e. Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Sri Lanka,
Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and at the ACD Ministerial Breakfast
Meeting in New York, September 2004, Bhutan’s application was endorsed and will
be formally accepted as the 26th ACD member at the 4th
ACD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Pakistan in 2005.
Given
the evolving complexities of globalization and its challenges, Asia is becoming
an important global player whose position would be further advanced if increased
intra-continental cooperation and understanding are enhanced. As witnessed,
Asia as a continent still lacks integral unity, and this is the missing link
of the present sub-regional frameworks in which the ACD aims to fill.
During the past two years, the ACD has made significant progress in both the
dialogue and project dimensions which are the core strands of cooperation of
the ACD, while special emphasis is made on positive issues of mutual interests.
The
dialogue dimension involves the promotion of interaction and participation of
ACD Ministers and exchanges of visits amongst senior government officials which
have proved fruitful in making policy-level decisions and initiating schemes
to be implemented. The project dimension includes the volunteering
of ACD member countries to become prime movers in diverse areas of cooperation
where concrete action is encouraged to be taken for concrete results to develop.
As
ACD coordinator, Thailand has also
initiated a network of ACD Think Tanks to serve as the academic arm of the ACD.
ACD members have nominated a number of academic institutes within their countries
to assist the ACD in developing projects and establishing linkages at the dual
track level. In this connection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand,
in cooperation with the Saranrom Institute of Foreign Affairs (SIFA) will organize
the first think tanks symposium on the ACD, its potential areas of cooperation,
direction and goals. The theme of the symposium is proposed as “Towards
Asian Dynamism: the Potentials of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue”.
Date,
Venue and Participants
The
symposium will be held at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, Bangkok, and will
last for two and a half days from Wednesday 15 December to Friday 17 December
2004. The twenty-two research institutes listed as academic arms of the
ACD will be invited to attend and give presentations on various topics, along
with the participation of other research institutes and government agencies
within the ACD countries.
Symposium
Aims
The
ACD Think Tanks Symposium has the following five principal objectives:
- to
provide a forum for Asian academic and research institutes to develop pan-ACD
links
- to
explore and discuss the direction of various areas of cooperation under the
ACD
- to
share experiences and current research interests which would benefit the ACD
- to
assist the ACD dialogue and project dimensions in initiating new cooperation
areas
- to
examine potential cooperation venues with other regions
Sub-themes
The
Symposium will comprise five sub-themes, each lasting approximately two to three
hours. Presenters are encouraged to give presentations for no more than
15 minutes each, so that there will be time available for group discussion with
the audience. Outlines of the presentations are to be sent to the Saranrom
Institute of Foreign Affairs (address below) by 26 November 2004.
The presentations are encouraged to come under the following sub-themes:
Sub-theme
1 Developing Asian Resources and Technological Research
(Energy
Security, Energy, Science and Technology, Biotechnology)
Sub-theme
2 Enhancing Economic and Financial Cooperation in Asia
(Working
Group on Financial Cooperation, SMEs Cooperation, E-Commerce, Infrastructure
Fund, Strengthening Legal Infrastructure)
Sub-theme
3 Strengthening Asian Foundations
(Poverty
Alleviation, Agriculture, E-Education, Asian Institute of Standards, Environmental
Education)
Sub-theme
4 Building Networks and Linkages across Asia
(Tourism,
Transport Linkages, IT Development, HRD)
Sub-theme
5 Conclusion: Concretizing Asian Dynamism and Potentials:
The Way Forward
Benefits
It
is hoped that the Symposium will contribute to the richness and diversity of
relations between Asian sectors whilst developing Asia’s pool of knowledge.
The Symposium hopes to stimulate future exchange of views between the research
institutes themselves so that a reputable academic network of ACD countries
can be created among Asian institutes. Furthermore, any proposals made
during the Symposium will be brought for consideration by the ACD coordinator
and discussed at the government level for possibilities of implementation.
Arrangements
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand will provide for three nights hotel
accommodation (nights of 14, 15, 16 December or 15, 16, 17 December) in Bangkok
for two participants from each ACD member country. Any other expenses
will be borne by all ACD participants themselves. Participants are encouraged
to send in the attached registration form by 26 November 2004
to:
Saranrom Institute of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sri Ayudhya Road
Bangkok 10400
Tel: 66-2643-5263
Fax: 66-2643-5264 / 66-2643-5289
Any
additional participants will be required to bear their own accommodation expenses.
They are able to reserve their accommodation through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs by sending in the attached registration form as well. The registration
form can also be downloaded from the ACD website: www.acddialogue.com.
The
Symposium programme will soon be posted on the ACD website with further details.
Please email any inquiries to [email protected]
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