Engaging ASEAN: The do’s & don’ts for effective business cooperation with governments
Date: 18 October 2012
Address: Singapore
Tel: +65 6 838 12 70
Fax: +65 68 35 95 36
Email: info@eas.asia
Website: www.eas.asia
Price: S$ 975 (inclusive of GST)
HIGHLIGHTS!
- Routes for engaging with ASEAN
- How and when to raise issues
- Understanding decision-making procedures in ASEAN
- ASEAN’s progress towards harmonisation: successes and challenges
- Understanding the ASEAN way
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PROGRAMME
09.30-10.00 Registration
10.00-10.15 Welcome and introduction to EAS
10.15-11.00 ASEAN: what it is and what it is not
Managing Director of the EAS office in Asia, and former ASEAN Deputy Secretary General, Pushpanathan Sundram will give an explanation of how ASEAN works – how it compares to other regional structures such as the EU – what drives it and where it is going. He will cover:
- The structure of ASEAN and the secretariat
- Its areas of work towards integration
- Its implementation plan, including the ASEAN Charter, community blueprints and other new community
agreements
- The role of the ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat in terms of decision-making,
formulation and implementation of policies
- The role of businesses and civil society in ASEAN
11.00-11.30 Question and Answer Session
11.30-11.45 COFFEE BREAK
11.45-12.30 Key areas to watch in the ASEAN harmonisation process
Simplification and harmonisation of regulations is one of the areas that ASEAN has identified for cooperation. EAS Director Simon Pettman will give an overview the stages of development within the key ASEAN pillars, with a focus on the opportunities and challenges in the areas of traditional medicines and health supplements, where ASEAN hopes to achieve its harmonisation efforts by the end of 2015. He will cover:
- The Progress
- The Successes and Challenges
- The Strategy for harmonisation, ASEAN way
12.30-13.00 Question and Answer Session
13.00-14.00 LUNCH
14.00-14.45 Process of engagement with ASEAN
Engagement with ASEAN takes place on three specific levels: the political, the policy and the technical levels. However, many businesses engage ASEAN at only one of these levels, thereby minimising their potential for substantive engagement with the national governments and ASEAN processes. Besides, companies operating at the national dimension often do not take advantage of the regional dimension thereby limiting their growth potentials, especially SMEs, which make up about 95% of ASEAN industries. Pushpanathan will explain the processes of engagement with ASEAN at all three levels and two dimensions, including:
- National and regional routes
- Private sector routes, in particular business councils in ASEAN
- Trade associations
14.45-15.15 Question and Answer Session
15.15-16.00 Style of engagement with ASEAN
Knowing when and how to raise issues is necessarily a key element of business planning, and in ASEAN this involves
acute awareness of the cultural and political arenas. From his extensive experience of more than 16 years of working
within ASEAN, Pushpanathan will give tips on:
- When to raise issues
- How to raise issues
- To whom to raise issues
- How to follow-up on issues
- How to achieve success for your company or industry
16.00-16.30 Question and Answer Session
16.30-16.45 Conclusions
16.45 END OF WORKSHOP
Download the full programme here
The host:
Pushpanathan Sundram is the Managing Director at the EAS office in Asia. As the former Deputy Secretary-General of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the ASEAN Economic Community, Nathan brings over 20 years’ experience in trade, finance, development and international cooperation. Nathan was the youngest and first professionally recruited Deputy Secretary General in the history of ASEAN. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore in collaboration with the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Nathan was the first recipient of the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew School Outstanding Alumni Award in 2011 for his leadership and achievements in steering economic integration in ASEAN and East Asia economic cooperation.
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