WEF Ends Event Amid Optimism, Trust as Malaysia Slated Next Host
[Updated 6:49 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 to add comments from BCG's chairman]
Jakarta. Chairpersons of the 24th World Economic Forum on East Asia ended the three-day event on Tuesday with a fresh sense of optimism and trust on Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Malaysia was picked as the next host.
“President [Joko Widodo] spoke of the optimism that he has, and this confirms the belief that through all the major global challenges the world is facing today, Indonesia has a lot to contribute,” said John Riady, executive director of Lippo Group and one of the five co-chairs of the WEF on East Asia, during the closing session in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Joko spoke at the WEF on Monday night, saying that Indonesia is an “incredible” place to invest and is ready to change to adapt to global development and to the challenges the nation faces.
“The decision of the forum to host in Indonesia speaks as much as confidence in Indonesia as it is about confidence in the region,” John added.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin, chief executive of Bank Mandiri and another co-chair, expressed the same sentiment — highlighting the pool of opportunities available for the region’s businesses and governments through the international forum.
“The World Economic Forum is a great platform of marketing so this was a great opportunity for Indonesia to showcase itself,” said Budi. “From the feedback that I’ve received with [the participants], they’re a now bit more positive on Indonesia.”
About 800 people participated in the forum, which began on Sunday at the Shangri-La Hotel, participating in discussions on a range of topics such as under the theme “Anchoring Trust on East Asia’s New Regionalism”.
Other co-chairs were Boston Consulting Group chairman Hans-Paul Buerkner, International Organization for Migration director general William Lacy Swing and SM Investments Corporation vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson.
Buerkner said that he was impressed and encouraged by Joko and the ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia in their push to make economic integration through the Asean Economic Community — when it starts at the end of this year — work.
"They all expressed desire to make this work, to open up movement of talent, to open up market for competition," he said. "While, of course, there are still obstacles along the way, it is that there’s an encouragement, that there’s great willingness to make this work. One of the key elements is that AEC is to move forward, to really create a level-playing field, to grow the piece of the pie significantly over the coming years.
"If that works out, we will see massive investment into the region from all over the world," Buerkner said.
GlobeAsia and the Jakarta Globe are media partners of the WEF event.
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