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Environmental Sustainability in Urban Centers (12-14 May 2010, Santiago)

Background and Program

Invitation (for members only)


1st Workshop on Social Resilience (4-5 March 2010, Tokyo)

Program

Invitation (for members only)

Press Release


State of the Region 2009-2010


Pacific Food System Outlook 2009-2010


Papers from Singapore PECC Conference, Oct 2009

Origins of PECC

PECC I: Pacific Community Seminar was held in September 1980 in Canberra, Australia, at the initiative of Mr Masayoshi Ohira and Mr Malcolm Fraser, then Prime Ministers of Japan and Australia respectively.

The Seminar was attended by 11 economies (Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States) and Pacific Island states (Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga). Typically, each delegation comprised one senior government official, one business leader, and one academic or professional member. Representatives of the Asian Development Bank, PBEC and PAFTAD were also present.

The Canberra meeting called for the establishment of an independent, regional mechanism to advance economic cooperation and market-driven integration.

Education Market

The Globalisation and Tertiary Education in the Asia-Pacific:
The Changing Nature of a Dynamic Market
 
 
This taskforce report (January 2010) examines the developments in the international tertiary education sector, and in particular, the opportunities and challenges they present for regional economic integration and community building in the Asia Pacific.
 
The project is a collaborative effort between PECC and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). The World Scientific publication is available for purchase here.
 
To download the executive summary, click here:  icon The Globalisation of Education: The Next Wave (315.72 kB).

Experts discuss social resilience as the next step post crisis

Photo: Session 5 - Towards a low-carbon society

1st Workshop on Social Resillience

4-5 March 2010

Tokyo, Japan

4 March 2010 (Tokyo) – Experts gathered in Tokyo for a two-day (4-5 March 2010) workshop to discuss measures to strengthen social resilience in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting was convened by the Japan Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and the opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Koichi Takemasa, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Experts and officials discussed how to make the region’s societies more robust and resilient against economic crises. The workshop consisted of five main sessions including macroeconomic analysis, pension system, medical/ health care, unemployment insurance system, and carbon reduction.

The results of the workshop series will be documented and finalized in time for the APEC Summit scheduled for November 2010 in Yokohama.

For the program agenda and related information, please refer to: www.jiia.or.jp/en/pecc/

 

 

Post-crisis opportunities for the businesses?
PECC Seminar on the Global Financial Crisis and Recovery by HKCPEC

Photo: During the seminar's panel discussion, speakers touched on Hong Kong's role in the new global economic order and the contributions from the public, private and academic sectors. (L-R) Prof. Jesus Seade, Vice-President of Lingnan University; Dr. William Fung, Managing Director of Li & Fung Group; Mr. Cheng Yan-chee, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services); Prof. Richard Wong, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University of Hong Kong; Dr. Raymond Ch'ien, Chairman of MTR Corp. Ltd.; and Mr. Edward Leung, Chief Economist of the Hong Kong Trade Development, as the moderator.

27 January 2010 (Hong Kong, China SAR) - Although many of the Asia-Pacific economies seem to be now on their paths to recovery since the large-scale economic crisis hit the region in 2008, the domestic business environment and prospects for international free trade still remain uncertain for most. Dr. William Fung, Managing Director of Li & Fung Group and former Chair of PECC, spoke of the persisting threat of protectionism amid concerns about decline in economic growth and trade.

However, there were also reasons to stay positive in light of the emerging opportunities for businesses under the new global economic order post-crisis as reminded by Dr. Raymond Ch'ien Kuo-fung, Chairman of the MTR Corporation. A panel discussion with five eminent businessmen and economists was moderated by Edward Leung, Chief Economist of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The panelists discussed the impact of the crisis on regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and explored the role of the region in the post-crisis global economic order.

Program

Press Release

Program Leaflet (pdf 871KB)

 
  • JANCPEC annual meeting

  • Chile Earthquake

  • USAPC: Washington Report

  • CNCPEC: 6th Tianjin Fair

  • AusPECC Inaugural Forum

JANCPEC annual meeting

JANCPEC's 45th National Committee Meeting was held on 15 February 2010 with about 40 participants. After opening remarks by Chairman Yoshiji Nogami, Secretary-General Naoko Saiki debriefed on the PECC Conference on economic crisis held last October in Singapore and the ongoing Social Resilience Project. The Japan Committee for Pacific Economic Outlook (PEO) then announced the activities of the PEO Structure Project. Kenji Hiramatsu, Deputy Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a speech on the current status and future tasks of APEC, and Charles Yuji Horioka, Professor at Osaka University, presented the outcome from his macro analysis research conducted for the Social Resilience Project. The meeting was adjourned after the introduction of a report on the State of the Region (SOTR) and a policy proposal by the Kansai Economic Federation.
 

Members of the PECC community express their sympathy for the victims of the massive earthquake that hit Chile on 27 February. The earthquake was the 5th most powerful recorded in the world. Following the earthquake tsunami warnings were issued for much of the Asia Pacific region covering PECC's membership.

USAPC: Washington Report

The January 2010 issue of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council's (USAPC) bimonthly Washington Report is now available. It features commentary by Dr. Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution. He discusses how issues of global importance, such as the international financial system and economic balances, the environment and climate change, and nuclear nonproliferation have come to occupy a central place in this important bilateral relationship. (see report on EWC website)

Sixth Tianjin Fair

PECC co-chair Dr Charles E. Morrison inspects battery operated car made by Santroll

The Sixth PECC Tianjin Trade and Investment Fair was held on 25-28 October 2009. The theme of the fair was on building eco-cities.  The PECC Fair at Tianjin draws hundreds of multinational companies and government institutions wanting to showcase their latest technologies, equipments, products and services as well as share best practices.
 
More than 300 companies and organizations participated this year which focused on three harmonies: people and people, people and environment, and people and economy. Special guests at the opening ceremony included: Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; Ted Turner, founder of CNN and Chairman of the UN Foundation; and Noble Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. 
 

 

AusPECC Holds Inaugural Forum

Chaired by Ian Buchanan, the members of the Australian National Committee for PECC convened on 23 September 2009 for an annual meeting.

Professor Christopher Findlay provided a summary of the General Meeting held in Washington DC in May and other recent international activities.

He also facilitated the group discussions focusing on three priorities for AusPECC: 1) Profiling of PECC outputs; 2) Contribution to flagship work programs and other international projects; 3) New Australian projects. In particular, AusPECC has been leading or actively taking part in projects about regional architecture, labor mobility, public-private partnership (PPP) agenda, education markets, food system, pacific economic outlook, water infrastructure policy, and regional financial centers.

PECC member committees have been invited to participate in a “Public Private Partnership (PPP) Forum” sponsored by ABAC under the chairmanship of ABAC Japan, the advisory Group for APEC Financial System Capacity Building, the Australian APEC Study Centre at RMIT University, and the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD) of the State Government of Victoria, Australia, on 9 February 2010 in Melbourne. Two PECC reports will be circulated at the forum. They are "Guidelines for Effective Public-Private Partnerships" and “Pacific Economic Outlook, Structure Task Force – Infrastructure Development in the Pacific Region”.  Dr Narongchai Akrasanee, Chair of Thai PECC Member Committee (TNCPEC) has been invited to speak on “Addressing impediments to long-term finance for infrastructure in Thailand”.  

 

Dato’ Dr. Mahani Zainal Abidin is the new chair of the Malaysian PECC committee. She takes over from Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar. She is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Institute of Strategic and International Studies. She obtained a Ph.D (development economics) from the University of London in 1992 and was Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya until 2007. Her research interests are industrialization and economic transformation, international trade and regional integration

Dr Edgardo Boeninger, former CHILPEC chair and PECC international chair from 1995-1997 passed away on 13 September. Dr Boeninger was formerly a member of the Senate and Secretary General of the Presidency of Chile under Patricio Aylwin. (more...)

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