ASEAN+3 Academics and Businesses to Deepen Roles in Building of East Asia community

The workshop aims to take stock of the progress, achievements and challenges of activities of NEAT and EAF and how they contribute to the ASEAN+3 process towards building a community in East Asia. It will also review policy recommendations of NEAT and EAF over the past 15 years and study the feasibility of those visions and recommendations. Additionally, the workshop will identify new areas and initiatives of regional cooperation; study new vision of community building with consideration of mutually reinforcing and complementary roles of other regional mechanisms of the ASEAN+3 process; and explore ways to identify and expand the scopes of all relevant stakeholders to seek their views on the process of East Asia community building.
In his Opening Remarks, Under-Secretary Kan highlighted the importance of the workshop as a platform for government, academia, and business sector to interface, discuss, and share valued thoughts and experiences on how the region can move forward with NEAT and EAF in strengthening the ASEAN+3 process and thereby contribute to the East Asia community process. There is therefore, Under-Secretary Kan emphasized, a need for the ASEAN+3 countries to concretise their efforts through, enhancing consultations, and undertaking comprehensive approaches.
The workshop, co-led by Cambodia and Japan, is one of the activities conducted to engage various stakeholders to reflect their views in the process of East Asia community building. It is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia and attended by representatives from government, academic and business circle from the ASEAN+3 countries and from the ASEAN Secretariat.
Press-release at the official ASEAN web-site