HONOLULU, Hawaii, U.S.A - ASIA-PACIFIC is fast emerging to be the strategic and economic pivot of the world, marking the dawn of an "Asia-Pacific century", which will redefine the future of the world, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday said.During the Apec CEO Summit 2011 yesterday, he said the size of the middle-class was growing remarkably in the region and with the Asian Development Bank predicting that there would be no poor country in Asia by 2015, things were looking up. However, we must keep in mind that the bright future of the Asia-Pacific century is not preordained. We must earn it, and it must be built brick by brick.
The president, who offered a few ideas and thoughts on how to realise the Asia-Pacific century, said that there was no need to reinvent the wheel, as framework and action plans were already in place.
- With nine out of 21 Apec members being G20 members, the leaders in the recent G20 summit came up with an action plan on how to rebalance the world economy towards more sustainable growth between surplus and deficit country.
Yudhoyono said,"Asia-Pacific will be central to global re-balancing. However, each of us needs to do our part and show political will for restructuring and some painful adjustments, something that Indonesia did years ago when we reduced oil subsidies." To anticipate the Asia-Pacific century, economies need to be open, effective, inclusive and transparent.
"For the first time in a long time, nations amongst power are marked by peace, stability and cooperation. New centers are growing rapidly, so it is pertinent that these powers don't lead to new tension, rivalries, or worse, conflict. We must make sure to provide confidence, more cooperation, and closer integration and one way to ensure such healthy dynamic equilibrium is to (build) partnerships," Yudhoyono added.
The Indonesian President stressed the importance of strategic cooperation because in the coming decade, the "scramble" for resources will intensify. "Energy demand will rise by 20 per cent by 2030, food 70 per cent by 2050, and water will become scarcer. For nations to find, secure, expand and sustain redevelopment sources, this will define the Asia-Pacific century," he said.
One of the issues he raised, which is fast on the rise, was the rapidly changing social landscape.- "We are living in the age of connectivity, the age of information and openness. It's a borderless world and every individual with the right tools can be a world voice," he said, adding that this connected world may be even more powerful than the 20th century revolution.
- "The connection between individuals and nations is much more intense than the official connections between governments. We have yet to comprehend the long-term implication of this, but the Asia-Pacific century will need to embrace this revolutionary change in our social landscape," Yudhoyono said.
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