Plenary Sessions featured eminent speakers who shared their perspectives on the following timely and relevant issues:
Gaining Traction from Regional Economic Integration
This session aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges surrounding the impending economic integration in Asia. Invited speakers will be requested to address the following questions: How deep is Asian economic integration today and how much further might it go? How does the deepening of regional economic links interplay with globalization? What factors will bear on the evolution of global and regional patterns of trade in the coming years? What are the implications for individual economies of being part of, or not being part of, regional trading agreements?The invited speakers included: (a) Mr.Chun-Fu Chang, Counselor, Office of Trade Negotiations, Executive Yuan, Republic of China (Taiwan); (b) Mr. Yoshio Amano, Senior Vice President, Mitsubishi Corp. and General Manager Mitsubishi Corp. Manila Branch; and (c) Dr. Omkar Shrestha, Associate Research Fellow at Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Adjunct Faculty, Economics Department, National University of Singapore. Chairing the session was Mr. Peter McMullin, Vice President, CACCI and Board Member International Chamber of Commerce Australia.
Promoting SME Development for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
This session featured speakers who shared their views and perspectives on how to equip SMEs to better meet the challenges of globalization and to benefit from its opportunities; how to create an enabling environment for SME development consisting of functioning macro and micro level institutions; and how to enable SMEs to improve production, grow sales, pursue innovation, create sustainable jobs, promote social inclusion, and achieve long-term economic impact.The session speakers included (a) Mr. Chia-Hsien Yang, Senior Executive Officer, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan); (b) Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry; (c) Ms. Ece Idil Kasap, Director of Online Solutions, World SME Forum; (d) Mr. Stephen Green, Partner, Green and Spiegel LLP; and Mr. Eren Sari, Business Development Consultant, Green and Spiegel LLP. . The session chairman was Amb. Benedicto V. Yujuico, Chairman, Istana Development Corporation and Immediate Past President, CACCI.
A special session on tourism was also convened that featured speakers who made presentations on the activities, programs, projects and policies of their respective organizations aimed at promoting the development and growth of the tourism sector of their country, as well as shared their views on how CACCI member countries can cooperate to promote tourism in the region.
The invited speakers included: (a) Mr. Eric Lin, Director, International Affairs Division, Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Republic of China (Taiwan); and (b) Ms. Aileen Clemente, Chairman and President, Rajah Travel Corporation. Chairing the special session was Mr. Anura Lokuhetty, Chairman, CACCI Asian Council on Tourism, who also made a presentation during the session.
