Global Megatrends: Implications for ASEAN Economic Community

07-Sep-2017

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

Global Megatrends: Implications for ASEAN Economic Community

JAKARTA, 7 September 2017 – The ASEAN Secretariat in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) released the Global Megatrends: Implications for the ASEAN Economic Community. The publication aims to further increase awareness of key issues and drivers of global megatrends, and draw out their relevance and implications for the ASEAN integration agenda.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) enters its second year of establishment in a changing world, partly driven by global megatrends. The transformative changes brought about by global megatrends do not happen overnight, but are rapid enough to warrant prompt anticipation.  The AEC Blueprint 2025 is envisioned to create a more dynamic and resilient ASEAN, capable of responding and adjusting to emerging challenges, including from global megatrends. In this new phase of economic integration, the AEC needs to be responsive in its policy processes.

“The importance of being responsive to the changes brought about by global megatrends is recognised. Such recognition finds even more resonance in the regional context, as the scale of impacts cut across demographics, policy areas, and national boundaries,” said Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN.

Amidst a growing body of literature addressing global megatrends, the publication provides specific references to the ASEAN context. While the megatrends discussed in the publication are not exhaustive, efforts are made to ensure that they reflect the broad spectrum of issues that the AEC needs to take into consideration. The publication is positioned to contribute to conversations and dialogues among ASEAN policymakers, the broader AEC stakeholders, and a wider audience of readers in the ASEAN region and beyond.

The publication is supported by the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program (AADCP) Phase II.