Opening Ceremony of the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings, 29 August 2018

OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 50TH ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS’ MEETING AND RELATED MEETINGS, 29 AUGUST 2018

29 AUGUST 2018

SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG AT OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 50th ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS’ MEETING AND RELATED MEETINGS 29 AUGUST 2018, 1000HRS

ASEAN Economic Ministers,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.

I am very happy to welcome all of you to Singapore for the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting.

ASEAN was established 51 years ago, with peace and prosperity as its founding principles. Southeast Asia at that time was a troubled and unstable region, rife with hostilities and confrontation. The original five members – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – came together to form a regional platform so as to put this history behind them, build trust amongst themselves, and bring about peace and stability in the region. That way, each country could focus on its own nation building, and improve its peoples’ lives.

Over the next decade, ASEAN progressively achieved this initial objective. It was a political objective. ASEAN expanded its focus to economic cooperation, so that Member states would not only prosper alone, but thrive together. From the late 1970s, economic cooperation and integration became an important part of ASEAN’s agenda. Eventually, economic cooperation became a key pillar that underpinned ASEAN’s success and cohesion. With stronger linkages came mutual economic interdependence and benefit. It gave Members greater incentive to work together, which further reinforced peace.

It took some time for economic co-operation to gain traction. The five founding Members adopted the ASEAN Preferential Trading Agreements (PTAs) in 1977. But because the Member states’ economies were at different stages of development, and had had very different historical experiences, we naturally held different views about whether and how to liberalise trade among ourselves. Economic integration therefore took a little longer. But over time, as our economies developed, perspectives on these issues evolved, and we took further steps towards deeper economic integration and openness. Supply chains became more intertwined, markets became more open, and countries encouraged more foreign direct investments in one another.

In 1992, ASEAN Members, which had grown to six by then, signed the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation. This was a landmark agreement covering five broad areas of cooperation. Trade; Industry, Minerals and Energy; Finance and Banking; Food, Agriculture and Forestry; and Transportation and Communications. In the same year, we launched the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which was a major milestone in our economic co-operation.

Thus over half a century, ASEAN has brought peace and growth to Southeast Asia, transforming the lives of 630 million people. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is one of the more successful economic groupings in the world, and a prime example of how a united ASEAN is much larger than the sum of its parts. ASEAN is forecast to become the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030, after the US, China and the EU. 60% of our population is under 35 years old – a growing, educated and young workforce, and an emerging middle class. And ASEAN is projected to continue to grow. GDP growth has averaged 5.4% in recent years, well above the global norm. It is projected to grow around this rate for the next five years. Four of the fastest growing economies in the world belong to ASEAN.

So ASEAN’s potential is clear. But for this potential to be fully realised, we must continue to strengthen regional economic cooperation and integration. All of us are concerned about the growing geopolitical uncertainties. Trade tensions between the US and our other Dialogue Partners including China, the EU and Canada have escalated. The rules-based multilateral trading system, which has underpinned ASEAN’s growth and prosperity, is under pressure. At the same time, each ASEAN Member state is subjected to different pulls and pressures from the bigger powers. In these circumstances, all the more Members must stay united and strive to maintain our cohesion and effectiveness.

It is therefore important that we press on with regional economic integration and fully implement the AEC Blueprint 2025. This will enable ASEAN businesses to operate more seamlessly across the region, and make our companies, and economies, more competitive globally. We must also continue to support an open and inclusive multilateral system, and work with like-minded partners to deepen cooperation. An open and economically integrated ASEAN will be a more attractive and valuable partner to the other economies. To date, ASEAN has concluded six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with seven of our key trading partners, namely Australia and New Zealand, China, India, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. ASEAN has also exerted significant effort to make progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The RCEP builds upon the existing five ASEAN Plus One FTAs to strengthen economic linkages, and enhance trade and investment flows. It will be the world’s largest trading bloc, covering a third of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), bringing tangible benefits to our people and our partners. Of course, given the diversity of RCEP’s members, we all have to make trade-offs and compromises. But we should weigh these against the significant strategic and economic value of the RCEP. The RCEP will be an important signal to the world that ASEAN Members, and our partners, place high value on free trade, regional integration and international cooperation.

The RCEP negotiations have continued for some time, and have now reached a critical stage. After a great deal of work, the possibility of substantively concluding the RCEP negotiations is finally in sight. I encourage RCEP countries to take a long term view, to keep up the momentum, to engage constructively and with maximum flexibility, so that we can deliver a high quality RCEP Agreement this year.

Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship has focused on the themes of “Resilience” and “Innovation”. We hope to foster practical steps which promote ASEAN’s growth and integration. Through innovation and technology, we can bring ASEAN economies and cities closer together. We have formed the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, with 26 participating cities. The Network held its inaugural meeting last month. Singapore hopes that the Network will establish a common framework for smart city development in ASEAN, and work out city-specific action plans and innovative projects that will improve the lives of our peoples.

That ultimately is the goal of every ASEAN government – to improve the lives of our 630 million people. Given the diversity of our economies and development levels, it is vital for ASEAN to identify and advance shared interests and goals. So let us all work hand-in-hand to make our vision of an “innovative and resilient ASEAN” a reality for all of us.

Thank you very much.

WELCOME REMARKS BY MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 50th ASEAN ECONOMIC MINISTERS (AEM) MEETING AND RELATED MEETINGS ON WEDNESDAY 29 AUG 2018, 10.00AM AT SHANGRI-LA HOTEL SINGAPORE

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.      A very good morning to all of you and warm welcome to Singapore, and to the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting.

2.      ASEAN has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in 1967. Staying open to trade has allowed ASEAN to grow from strength to strength. Trade, in this part of the world, is vital to our growth. With a combined GDP of USD 2.55 trillion, a collective market of about 650 million consumers and a rising middle class, ASEAN is poised to become the fourth largest economy by 2030 after the US, China and the EU.

3.      However, the past two years have posed challenges for ASEAN, and the multilateral trading system as a whole. We have witnessed an escalation of trade tensions between major economies and the increasing inclination of some countries to adopt inward-looking policies. It is clear that trade openness can no longer be taken for granted. It has never been more important for ASEAN to stand united in support of an open, rules-based multilateral trading system.

4.      Despite rising nationalistic tendencies and anti-trade sentiments elsewhere in the world, ASEAN has stayed the course in its trajectory of regional economic integration. Businesses and consumers in the region have benefited from the realisation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. Intra-regional trade in goods are now largely tariff-free, non-tariff barriers have also been progressively reduced, services regulations made less onerous and more transparent and pro-business investment rules implemented. However, our work did not end in 2015.

5.      In fact, we renewed our commitment to press on towards even deeper economic integration as we embarked on the AEC 2025 Blueprint. This includes the consolidation of our work done in 2015, and new initiatives to future-proof the AEC in light of rapid pace of technological change and digital disruption.

6.      Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship comes at a critical juncture, as we take further steps to shape ASEAN into a cohesive organisation capable of adapting to a more complex and uncertain global environment, and an economic bloc that is prepared to capitalise on future opportunities.

7.       We have made headway in this endeavour due to the strong support of all the ASEAN Member States (AMS). We took a huge leap forward in developing the ASEAN digital space and we witnessed the transition to the “live” operation of the ASEAN

Single Window in January 2018 for five exchange-ready ASEAN Member States. The remaining AMS are expected to come on board soon. Our Leaders also agreed to work on the Digital Trade Standards Cooperation Initiative, which will be jointly developed by ASEAN and Australia. These initiatives will play a pivotal role in driving the development of seamless digital connectivity in the region.

8.       Our ASEAN Tourism Ministers have adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Cruise Tourism. This will serve to bolster our intra-ASEAN tourism flows and the regional cruise industry. Good progress has also been made in several other longstanding initiatives which are core to our integration efforts. ASEAN will be embarking on a Feasibility Study on an ASEAN-wide Authorised Economic Operators Mutual Recognition Agreement or AEO MRA. When realised, it will translate to lesser administrative burden for traders and speedier customs clearance at the border. Externally, we have reaffirmed our commitment to redouble efforts to substantially conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP by the end of this year.

9.      These achievements are testament to ASEAN’s unwavering vision and commitment to create a more integrated AEC for the continued prosperity for our people and businesses.

10.      We must nevertheless continue to build on these successes. We should identify areas where our individual economies can complement one another to compete beyond ASEAN, take positive steps to facilitate trade, investment, and people-to-people links, so that collectively, we build a more integrated ASEAN. At the same time, we must uphold the multilateral and rules-based trading system. Our shared vision to continue deepening connections with each other and with our external partners is an important endeavour. We should do this well to further entrench ASEAN centrality and relevance in the global economy. We cannot afford to let recent policy U-turns elsewhere detract us from defending the very foundation that underpins the AEC that has benefited the region.

11.      This is an important week for the ASEAN Economic Community. Within ASEAN, we will redouble efforts to advance our internal integration. We will also take time to meet our Dialogue Partners to discuss ways to further strengthen our economic cooperation. I am confident that we will achieve fruitful outcomes over the coming days as we renew our existing efforts, and undertake additional commitments to strengthen the AEC and foster deeper partnerships with our Dialogue Partners. This will serve as a bulwark against unilateralism and protectionism and keep us on a path towards growth, progress and prosperity for our peoples.

12.      On this note, I also like to thank all our ASEAN partners for your support for Singapore’s Chairmanship without which we would not have been able to achieve so much over this year and we look forward to continuing our work with you for the rest of the year to achieve what we have set out to do.

Thank you very much and may you enjoy the discussions.