The 4th session of the seminar series will be held on Wednesday, March 22. The theme is "Outlook Thailand - General Election and Economic policy".
Next year's 28th International Conference "Future of Asia" is scheduled to be held on May 25 (Thu) - 26 (Fri), 2023.
The 3rd session of the seminar series will be held on Wednesday, October 26. The theme is "The Future of Japan-China Relations after the Chinese Communist Party Congress".
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Yuri Sato
Executive Vice President, The Japan Foundation
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister, India
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
President, Sri Lanka
Pham Binh Minh
Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Vietnam
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Former Prime Minister, Malaysia
Kevin Rudd
Former Prime Minister, Australia
Apinan Poshyananda
Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Bangkok Art Biennale
Daisuke Isobe
Former President Director, PT. Aeon Mall Indonesia
Bonnie S. Glaser
Director, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Jia Qingguo
Professor, School of International Studies, Peking University
Bilahari Kausikan
Chairman, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
Mitsunobu Koshiba
Vice Chairman, Japan Association of Corporate Executives
Nobuko Kawashima
Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University
Raymund Chao
Chairman, PwC Asia Pacific and PwC China
Sandhya Sriram
Group CEO and Chairman, Shiok Meats
Akitaka Wilhelm Fujii
President, Real Tech Holdings
Yun Duk-min
Chair-Professor, Hankook University of Foreign Studies
Yi Xiaozhun
Former Vice Minister of Commerce, ChinaThe Future of Asia is an international gathering where political, economic and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions frankly and freely on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world. Held by Nikkei every year since 1995, it is considered to be one of the most important global conferences in Asia.
Two years have passed since the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
The time has come for Asia to play a major role beyond stability and sustainable development of the region.
Asian unity is essential to overcome complex global issues, such as the struggle for hegemony between the U.S. and China, decarbonization, disruptions in supply chains like semiconductors, and the disparity between the rich and poor.
Will Asian countries be tossed about by ever-changing domestic and international events and begin looking inward, or will they be able to find common goals, align with each other, and pursue their role in the world?
Asia is a region with diverse values, but collectively has the power to become a nexus of the world if united.
We will ask the leaders what new roles and responsibilities they can take on now that we are in a crisis of division.
International conference on "The Future of Asia" is one of the most important international conferences in Asia, where leaders of Asian countries and regions deliver their messages for the future. In the midst of the international turmoil, such as the conflict between the U.S. and China, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "The Future of Asia" will bring you the direct voice of the leaders of the region.
A special feature of "The Future of Asia" is the outstanding lineup of speakers. 2021 conference featured a record number of 9 current presidents and prime ministers (Philippines, Laos, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Nepal). You can’t miss this rare opportunity of leaders of Asian countries speaking about the future of Asia and the world in their own words.
Reporters who are covering the frontlines of Asia on a daily basis and journalists with long experience in Asia will present a Q&A session to get into the real thoughts of Asian leaders. We will report on the reality of the developments in Asia, drawing out the intentions and background of the policies that each country and region is pursuing, as well as the thoughts of the leaders.
Corporate executives and potential expatriates can update their knowledge of Asia in the midst of the turbulent global situation, and utilize the program as a strategic planning and training platform for the Asian and global market. The agenda and vision by leaders will give you important hints for foreseeing economic and industrial policies of each country. It will also provide new insights for those who study politics and economics in the Asian region.
You can attend onsite where you can feel the excitement of the event only at the venue, or we also offer a live streaming plan that allows you to watch the conference live from your home or office. The visitor pass also includes lunches and a live and archived streaming plan that allows you to watch all sessions at your convenience for a period of 6 months after the conference.
Executives and potential expatriates of companies expanding in Asia
Businesspersons who want to have an in-depth knowledge of Asian situations
Academic researchers and analysts specializing in Asian political research
Organizer
Sponsors
JPY 69,800 - (including tax) *Capacity of 100 seats
Attending all sessions (on-site)
Access to live streamings
Available full access
Access to full video archives
Available until the end of November 2022
Lunch
Access to "Future of Asia" seminar series
The "Future of Asia" seminar series will be held four times a year after the "Future of Asia" conference in May.
Nikkei Asia subscription
Instruction email for Nikkei Asia subscription will be sent around middle of May or early June depending on the registration date.
Please note that we may cancel or change the event, or stop accepting visitors, due to guidelines by the national and local governments.
Access to live streamings
Available full access
(As of May 25, 2022)
※Honorifics and titles omitted.
※English and Japanese simultaneous interpretation will be available during the forum.
※Speakers will participate online, with few exceptions. Please be aware that video and audio may be disturbed due to technical problems with internet connections or server.
DAY 1May 26 (Thu), 2022 9:30-17:10 (JST)
Opening
DAY 1-1
Moderator
Shigesaburo OkumuraChief of International News Center and Editor-in-chief of The Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-2
Moderator
Takashi NakanoSingapore Bureau Chief and Kuala Lumpur Bureau Chief, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-3
Moderator
Tomoya OnishiHanoi Bureau Chief, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-4
Moderator
Toru TakahashiSenior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-5
Moderator
Ryosuke HanadaMumbai Bureau Chief, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-6
Moderator
Sotaro SuzukiEditor, International News Group, International News Center, Editorial Division, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-7
In Asia, the number of startups aiming for global innovation as well as solving social issues in their countries and regions is increasing. We would like to ask about the potential of Asia to entrepreneurs who challenge the transformation of the world with their own business models and technologies.
Moderator
Keiichi MurayamaCommentator, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 1-8
In today's world, where globalization is advancing and interdependence is deepening while, at the same time, fragmentation is evident, it is becoming increasingly important to engage in cultural exchange with an awareness of understanding different cultures and an open attitude toward different values. When doing business in Asia, companies need to have ingenuity and imagination in order to maximize the appeal of their own culture and link it to demand, while making a market-oriented approach to understand the culture of the partner country/region. The session will focus on how to develop business in Asia, and how to develop products and services that will meet the needs of customers. In this session, we will welcome experts who are active in business development in Asia and at the interface between culture and economy, and discuss their specific experiences.
DAY 1-9
Moderator
Tetsushi TakahashiEditor, Policy News Unit, Editorial Division, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2May 27 (Fri), 2022 9:00-16:50 (JST)
DAY 2-1
After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the world faces three crises: The first is the war between Russia and Ukraine; the second is the second Cold War between Russia and the West; and the third is the deepening conflict between the United States and China. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.S.-China tensions are not limited to the high-tech and maritime fields, but also extend to the nature of the world order. How will the U.S. and China behave in this stage of the crisis in Asia? And how will this affect the Asian order? Experts from the U.S., China and ASEAN will discuss these issues, including the Taiwan issue, which is a matter of regional security concern.
DAY 2-2
Moderator
Kaori TakahashiSenior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-3
Moderator
Ryosuke HaradaSenior Executive Editor, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-4
Moderator
Toru TakahashiSenior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-5
Moderator
Toyoaki FujiwaraEditor-in-chief of Editorial Headquarters for Asia, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-6
Moderator
Ryosuke HanadaMumbai Bureau Chief, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-7
Moderator
Toru TakahashiSenior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-8
Moderator
Shigesaburo OkumuraChief of International News Center and Editor-in-chief of The Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Inc.
DAY 2-9
The "Age of Geo-economics" in which nations use the economy as a means to geopolitical ends. As the global situation becomes more chaotic, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.-China confrontation, there are growing concerns in Asia, the center of the global supply chain, about the fragmentation of supply networks, stagnation of economic activities centered on trade and investment, and the weakening of the free trade system. What management strategies and business models should global companies operating in Asia pursue? We will explore corporate management in the age of geopolitics through the efforts of companies that have moved to sustain their economic activities while minimizing the impact from the interests of major powers.
Moderator
Makoto KajiwaraCommentator, Nikkei Inc.
November 2, 2023, 16:45 JST
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Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as the 7 th Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka following the Presidential Election held on 16 th November 2019.
President Rajapaksa took his oath of office within the sacred precincts of the historic Ruvanvaliseya Stupa in Anuradhapura on 18 th November 2019. He is the first non-career politician and the first former military officer to be elected to the highest office in the land. He won 52.25% of the total votes cast at the election, garnering over 1.3 million votes more than his closest rival. He contested from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party.
The son of former Cabinet Minister D. A. Rajapaksa and brother of the 5 th Executive President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was born in 1949 and educated at Ananda College, Colombo. He joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1971. During his military service, he earned a Masters Degree in Defence Studies from the University of Madras, and underwent advanced training in Pakistan, India and the USA. Having commanded many anti-terrorist operations in the North and East of Sri Lanka during the conflict, he was awarded the Rana Wickrama Padakkama and Rana Sura Padakkama medals for gallantry and excellence in combat. He also received commendations from the President of Sri Lanka and the Commander of the Army for his bravery in action. After retiring from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1991, he studied Information Technology at the University of Colombo and later migrated to the United States of America, where he worked as an IT professional at the Loyola Law School, California, before returning to Sri Lanka in 2005.
Following the election of his brother as President in November 2005, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was entrusted with the position of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. In this capacity, he rendered yeoman service to the nation by overseeing the defeat of the brutal LTTE terrorist organization that had been active in the country since the mid-1970s. In December 2006, he narrowly escaped assassination in the course of his duties when an LTTE suicide bomber drove an explosives laden vehicle into his car. Unbowed, he continued to play a pivotal role in strategizing, planning, coordinating and providing the wherewithal to the Armed Forces and the Police to combat the LTTE until its defeat in May 2009, which brought peace to the country after nearly thirty years. In recognition of his contribution to Sri Lanka through his role as the Defence Secretary, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Colombo.
At the conclusion of the conflict, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was instrumental in the swift restoration of normalcy to the conflicted affected areas. He oversaw the military’s involvement in demining, reconstruction, and resettlement in the North and East, as well as the rehabilitation and reintegration to society of former LTTE cadres. Whilst overseeing the transition of the military and law enforcement agencies to a peacetime role, he initiated a range of activities to consolidate national security and strengthen the country’s intelligence apparatus. He also undertook significant capacity building within the various state bodies coming under his purview, including the Department of Immigration & Emigration, the Registration of Persons Department, the Civil Security Department and the Coast Guard.
With the return of peace and the increasing focus of the Government on accelerating economic growth, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administrative portfolio was augmented to include responsibility for Urban Development. As the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, he launched an ambitious, far reaching and remarkably successful programme to transform the country’s urban landscape. Under his stewardship, many longstanding issues that had long bedeviled Sri Lanka’s urban spaces were systematically addressed and resolved. Strengthening flood control and drainage management, provision of quality housing to those in underserved settlements, increasing the availability and quality of public open spaces, restoration of heritage buildings, rapid improvements to roads and pavements, the development of public amenities, and efficient garbage disposal were amongst his many accomplishments during this period. His work was instrumental in altering perceptions about the country, with Colombo being hailed as one of the most beautiful and well-managed cities in South Asia. The transformation of its urban spaces also helped attract significant foreign investments to Sri Lanka.
Following the change in Government in Sri Lanka after the Presidential Election in 2015, Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned from his position as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. Prior to his entry to active politics, which took place with his nomination as Presidential Candidate by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in August 2019, he founded Viyath Maga, an organization that brought together professionals committed to a better future for the country, and the Eliya organization, which sought to increase public awareness about critical issues pertaining to them.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is married to Ioma. They have one son, Manoj.
Born on April 4, 1951 in Kampong Cham Province, upon completion of his local primary schooling, in 1965 Mr. Hun Sen came to Phnom Penh to continue his secondary education.
In 1970, Cambodia was plunged into war. Responding to the appeal of Prince Sihanouk to Cambodians to join the war against the imperialists, at the age of 18, Mr. Hun Sen joined the struggle movement, which liberated the country on April 17, 1975.
One day before the victory, on April 16, 1975, Hun Sen was wounded in the left eye. Recovered from months of treatment, on January 5, 1976, he married Bun Rany. They have six children.
Witnessing the Pol Pot regime’s policy of genocide, in 1977 he left his beloved family again to lead a movement aimed at liberating Cambodia and its people from the genocidal regime.
From 1979 to 1993, Mr. Hun Sen held various positions in the Cambodian administrations – the People’s Republic of Kampuchea and then the State of Cambodia. As Foreign Minister in 1979, as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 1981 to 1985, and then as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 1985 to 1991, Mr. Hun Sen brought about several remarkable achievements, laying the basis for the implementation of peace, national reconciliation, and the development of Cambodia. Through his willing contribution and efforts, Mr. Hun Sen proved an indispensable architect of the Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia.
As a result of the implementation of the Agreement and the 1993 national elections, from 1993 to 1998 Hun Sen served Cambodia as the Co-Premier of the first coalition government. In this position, he again proved to be an earnest defender of national achievements and of the Paris Peace Agreement. His achievements in this period included carrying out the win-win policy which ends the Khmer Rouge’s threat and unifies Cambodia.
In July 1998, the general election brought victory to the Cambodian People’s Party, of which Hun Sen was the Vice President. He became the sole Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Samdech Hun Sen again led the CPP to a victory in the July-2003 general elections. On July 15, 2004, the National Assembly re-elected him as Prime Minister. On September 25, 2008, after winning the general elections of July 27, 2008, Samdech Hun Sen was re-elected as Prime Minister for the next five-year term (2008-2013). On September 23, 2013, Samdech Techo Hun Sen was re-elected as Prime Minister for the next five-year term(2013-2018).
On August 15, 2018, based on the official results of the National Assembly elections held on July 29, 2018, participated by 83.02% of registered voters, the National Elections Committee announces the Cambodian People’s Party winning a full-house 125 seats in the National Assembly to continue leading the country for another 5 years (2018-2023).
On September 6, 2018, in its first session, the sixth legislative term National Assembly carries out package voting through which confidence is granted for Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Earlier Dr S. Jaishankar was President – Global Corporate Affairs at Tata Sons Private Limited from May 2018.
He was Foreign Secretary from 2015-18, Ambassador to United States from 2013-15, Ambassador to China from 2009-2013, High Commissioner to Singapore from 2007-2009 and Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2000-2004.
He has also served in other diplomatic assignments in Embassies in Moscow, Colombo, Budapest and Tokyo, as well in the Ministry of External Affairs and the President’s Secretariat.
Dr S. Jaishankar is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College at the University of Delhi. He has a Masters in Political Science and an M. Phil and Ph.D in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
He is a recipient of the Padma Shri award in 2019.
He is married to Kyoko Jaishankar and has two sons & and a daughter.
Nobuko Kawashima has been researching cultural policy since she worked as Research Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, UK from 1995 to 1999.
Since taking up her current post at Doshisha University, her expertise has expanded to include cultural economics, media industries, and copyright law, to result in a number of research grants and a large number of publications in Japanese and in English.
She has been invited to give talks at international conferences and seminars and has been a member of the Scientific Committee of ICCPR, the leading international conference in the field of cultural policy research, since its establishment in 2000. She is well-linked to the real world of cultural policy making in Japan, having served a number of Councils and Committees for the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA).
After being a member of the Council for Cultural Policy of the ACA for several years, she was appointed its Chair in 2019. Publications in English include Asian Cultural Flows, Editor, with Lee, H.-K., Springer, 2018, and Film Policy in a Globalised Cultural Economy, Editor, with Hill, J., Routledge, 2017.
Date of birth: May 7, 1969
Career:
Yuri Sato serves as Executive Vice President of The Japan Foundation from 2021. She is in charge of promoting global partnership through dialogue and supporting overseas Japanese studies.
Prior to this she has been working as a researcher on Indonesia and Southeast Asia, especially economy, industry, business and political economic studies at the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO) since 1981. She stationed in Indonesia as a researcher in 1985-87 and 1996-99, and as a special advisor for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) in 2008-10. In 2015-19 she served as Executive Vice President of IDE, and of JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) in charge of promoting economic exchange with Southeast Asia and Oceania. Her present notable positions include President of the Japan Association of Asian Studies, Vice President of the Colloquium on Indonesian Studies in Japan, and Director of the Japan Indonesia Association Inc. She obtained a doctorate in economics from University of Indonesia, and is the author/editor of numerous academic works, and the recipient of the 24th Grand Prix Asia Pacific Awards and the 16 th Okita Memorial Prize for International Development Research on her book. She also has experiences in teaching at several distinguished universities.
Bilahari Kausikan is currently Chairman of the Middle East Institute, an autonomous institute of the National University of Singapore. He has spent his entire career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his 37 years in the Ministry, he served in a variety of appointments at home and abroad, including as Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry. Raffles Institution, the University of Singapore and Columbia University in New York all attempted to educate him.
Bonnie S. Glaser is director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She was previously senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ms. Glaser is concomitantly a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. For more than three decades, Ms. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy.
From 2008 to mid-2015, she was a senior adviser with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, and from 2003 to 2008, she was a senior associate in the CSIS International Security Program. Prior to joining CSIS, she served as a consultant for various U.S. government offices, including the Departments of Defense and State. Ms. Glaser has published widely in academic and policy journals, including the Washington Quarterly, China Quarterly, Asian Survey, International Security, Contemporary Southeast Asia, American Foreign Policy Interests, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, as well as in leading newspapers such as the New York Times and International Herald Tribune and in various edited volumes on Asian security. She is also a regular contributor to the Pacific Forum web journal Comparative Connections. She is currently a board member of the U.S. Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. She served as a member of the Defense Department’s Defense Policy Board China Panel in 1997. Ms. Glaser received her B.A. in political science from Boston University and her M.A. with concentrations in international economics and Chinese studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Jia Qingguo is Professor of the School of International Studies of Peking University. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1988. He has taught in the University of Vermont, Cornell University, University of California at San Diego, University of Sydney in Australia as well as Peking University. He was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution between 1985 and 1986, a visiting professor at the University of Vienna in 1997 and a CNAPS fellow at the Brookings Institution between 2001 and 2002. He is a member of the Standing Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He is also Director of the Institute for China-US People-to- People Exchange of the Ministry of Education, Vice President of the Chinese American Studies Association, Vice President of China International Relations Studies Association, and Vice President of Chinese Japanese Studies Association. He is serving on the editorial board of more than a dozen established domestic and international academic journals. He has published extensively on U.S.-China relations, relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Chinese foreign policy and Chinese politics.
Bio
Dr. Sandhya Sriram is the Group CEO, Chairman, and Co-founder of Shiok Meats Pte. Ltd., Singapore, the first cultivated seafood & meat company in Southeast Asia and the first cultivated Crustacean company globally. With her at the helm, Shiok Meats has raised USD 30 Million in funding since its inception in 2018, from a global suite of investors - USA, Europe, Singapore, Japan, South Korea to name a few. Shiok Meats also acquired Gaia Foods, a cultivated red meat company, headquartered in Singapore as well.
A stem cell biologist and scientist by training and education, a former business development professional, a serial entrepreneur, and a thought leader - all in one - Sandhya was recently named as part of the 2021 class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts and as one of Forbes Women in Tech.
She is also an advisor and investor to trailblazing Food Tech start-ups and has spoken at leading industry conferences worldwide. A proud mother to an 8-year-old, a conscious lifestyle blogger, and an avid traveller, Sandhya likes to call herself a productive juggler.
General Profile
Sandhya has over ten years of experience working with muscle, adipose, cells, and stem cells. After graduating with a Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Sandhya pursued her postdoctoral work at A*STAR in Singapore. Following four years of postdoctoral work, she took up business development at a research institute.
After obtaining a master's degree in International Studies from the University of Tokyo, Akitaka Wilhelm Fujii joined EIT Climate-KIC, a company that operates incubation and accelerator programs to address climate change. Akitaka took part in the establishment of multiple departments and was involved in team design, recruitment, team building, evaluation, and other personnel-related work. He became the person responsible for a company-wide Personnel System Reform Task Force in 2017. While at the company, Akitaka evaluated more than 200 startups and new businesses for grants, managing those awarded the grants as portfolio companies. He was also in charge of evaluating the environmental impact of portfolio companies and was exposed to a variety of innovative measures to address climate change.
Joining Real Tech Fund in March 2019 as a team developer, Akitaka provided a wide range of hands-on HR support, which includes recruitment, team building and personnel system design, in order to accelerate the growth of portfolio startups. He also contributed to the formation of Real Tech Fund's ecosystem.
Akitaka assumed office as President of Real Tech Holdings in May 2020 and is working to enhance the management of the entire organization.
Mitsunobu (Nobu) Koshiba is Vice Chairman, Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), and Chairman Emeritus, JSR Corporation. Mr Koshiba joined JSR (Japan Synthetic Rubber) in 1981 and was assigned to the Tokyo Research Lab as a research engineer of photoresists. He relocated to Silicon Valley in 1990 to start JSR’s first US electronic materials operation and established a #1 supplier position of high- performance and quality photoresists to support all major US semiconductor manufacturers. Mr Koshiba returned to JSR Japan in 2002 to run the global operations of the fine-chemical sector as a general manager. He was promoted to Executive Officer in 2004, President and CEO in 2009, and became Chairman of the Board in 2019. Mr Koshiba graduated from Chiba University and received a MS degree in Graphic Engineering in 1979. He was awarded a scholarship by the Rotary Foundation and enrolled in the Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1980.
Lee Hsien Loong has been Singapore’s Prime Minister since 2004.
Mr Lee is the Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party (PAP). He was first elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 1984, and has been re-elected eight times, most recently as an MP for the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency.
Mr Lee also chairs GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, an international panel that provides strategic direction for Singapore’s Research and Development efforts.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Mr Lee had held various Ministerial appointments, including being Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister for Trade and Industry and Second Minister for Defence. He was concurrently the Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1998 until 2004.
Before joining politics, Mr Lee had served in the Singapore Armed Forces, retiring as a Brigadier-General.
Mr Lee graduated with a B.A. in Mathematics and a Diploma in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. He was later a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, receiving a Master in Public Administration.
General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.) is the 29 th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. He was born in Nakhon Ratchasima, a city to the north east of Bangkok, on 21 March 1954. By the age of 17, he entered Thailand’s prestigious Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and then completed a Bachelor’s of Science from the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Thailand’s prominent service academy, in 1976. From there, he went on to enjoy a distinguished military career spanning more than four decades, serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army in 2010 until his retirement in 2014.
General Prayut became the 29 th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand in 2014. After the promulgation of Thailand’s new constitution in 2017 and following general elections in March 2019, he was elected by the Parliament as Prime Minister for a second term in 2019.
During his tenure, he has emphasized the goals of ‘stability, prosperity, and sustainability’ for Thailand’s direction. This emphasizes the importance of political civility, and thus stability, to support the continuity of government policy and national development objectives, as represented by Thailand’s 20-year National Strategy. To compliment this, the Prime Minister has advocated the importance of having stable economic growth through the Thailand 4.0 agenda of an innovation and technology based economy, connectivity between local and regional markets and production bases through infrastructure upgrades, and the transformation to a digital economy. Most importantly, he has emphasized the priority of ‘leaving no-one behind’ as a core feature of the government’s policy objectives, to secure sustainable growth and a quality of life that can be enjoyed by all citizens.
He is married to Associate Professor Naraporn Chan-o-cha and they have two daughters.
H.E. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. During this period he opened up the country to foreign investments, reformed taxation, reduced trade barriers, oversaw the privatisations of numerous state-owned enterprises and created a world-class physical infrastructure. He also sought to bridge Malaysia’s ethnic divide by increasing general prosperity.
In 1991, he launched the New Development Policy, which emphasised industrial and commercial development and the elimination of poverty. Under Tun Dr. Mahathir’s leadership, Malaysia developed into one of the most prosperous and dynamic economies in Southeast Asia, with a burgeoning industrial sector, an expanding middle class and enhanced quality of life.
In 1995, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative was introduced to make Malaysia a global player in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
Malaysia also played a more active role in the international arena, acting as the voice for developing nations in Asia and Africa. Always with one eye on the future, Tun Dr. Mahathir unveiled Vision 2020 in 1991, a blueprint for Malaysia’s journey towards becoming a developed economy and a mature democracy by the year 2020.
Despite his retirement, Dr Mahathir has been kept busy with numerous invitations and speaking engagements locally and abroad.
He is the Honorary President of Perdana Leadership Foundation (PLF), a think-tank set up to preserve, develop and disseminate the intellectual heritage of past leaders. Tun Dr Mahathir is also the Chairman of Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) and President of Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF). Both these organisations aim at promoting global peace and criminalising war.
In 2015, Tun Dr. Mahathir decided to come out of his political retirement and spearheaded a campaign to oust Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from office. Following that, Tun Dr. Mahathir and several like-minded political leaders had formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in which he is the chairman.
Other political parties opposed to the Prime Minister had also rallied around him and elected Tun Dr Mahathir to be the chairman of Pakatan Harapan (Coalition of Hope) as well as naming him as the Prime Minister designate if they won the 14 th general election.
On 9 th May 2018, the result of the 14 th Malaysian General Election declared the Pakatan Harapan as the winner. Tun Dr Mahathir wins sworn in as the 7 th Prime Minister the following day.
In February 2020, Tun Dr. Mahathir resigned Prime Minister.
Tun Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and they have seven children and sixteen grandchildren.
Raymund Chao is the Asia Pacific and China Chairman. He is the only representative for Asia on the Global Network Leadership team, which sets the overall strategy for the PwC network.
Prior to this role, Raymund was PwC’s Assurance Leader in Asia Pacific. With over 30 years of professional experience, he has provided audit and business advisory services to both state-owned and private enterprises in Hong Kong and in Mainland China. Raymund has been involved in a number of onshore and offshore initial public offerings (IPO), debt financing, corporate restructuring, and merger and acquisition transactions. During the past ten years or so, he has been heavily involved in promoting corporate governance and systems of internal control for enterprises.
Raymund began his career in Toronto, Canada in 1984 and returned to Hong Kong, where he was born and raised, in 1992. He relocated to Beijing, China in 2003 and became PwC’s China Assurance Leader in 2005. From 2011, he became PwC’s Assurance Leader for Asia Pacific and is one of the five core members of the PwC’s Global Assurance Executive Team, which determines the strategy and directions for PwC’s Assurance business on a global basis.
Raymund is a Chartered Accountant in Canada and a Certified Public Accountant (practising) in Hong Kong.
Date of birth: 10 November 1945
Marital status: Married to Madam Naly SISOULITH with 3 children.
Religion: Buddhism.
Position: President
Education:
Work Experience:
Foreign Languages: Russian, Vietnamese, English
Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Phạm Bình Minh was born in 1959 in Nam Dinh. He is a professional, experienced diplomat and has been working in the Foreign Services for nearly 35 years. He has held various important positions in his diplomatic career and built up a wide range of experience in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.
He married and has two children.
Education
He graduated in 1981 from the University of Diplomacy (now the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam). He obtained a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at Fletcher School, Tufts University, the United States of America.
He is fluent in English.
Career
In January 2016, he was elected as a member of the Politburo of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, member of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. Prior to that time, he was designated as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam since November 2013. He was re-elected to the National Assembly the 15th tenure April 2021. He was assigned as Standing Deputy Prime Minister in September 2021.
He was appointed as the 12th Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam in August 2011 and was elected as a member of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in January 2011.
He was appointed as the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam from September 2006 to August 2011.
After being elected as an alternate member of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in April 2006, he became a member of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam since January 2009. In November 2008, he was elected as a member of the 13th National Assembly.
From March 2003 to September 2006, he was designated as the Acting Director Genera and then the Director General of the Department for International Organizations, and the Head of Delegation for Dialogue on Human Rights with other countries.
From 1991 to 1999, he worked as the Deputy Director General of the Department for International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam. He held a number of important positions at the representative offices of Viet Nam in the United States (Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations in New York; Minister, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Viet Nam in the United States of America) from 1999 to January 2003.
Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Phạm Bình Minh began his diplomatic career in 1981, when he worked at the Department of Training (now the Personnel and Organization Department). From 1982 to 1985, he worked at the Embassy of Viet Nam to the United Kingdom as Attaché. From 1986 to 1990, he worked as Desk Officer at the Department of General Affairs (now the Department for International Organizations).
Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob was born on 18 January 1960 in Temerloh, Pahang Darul Makmur. He is married to Yang Amat Berbahagia Datin Sri Muhaini Zainal Abidin in 1986 and blessed with four children.
YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia was appointed by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda The Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVI on 21st August 2021. He was the 13th Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, appointed by the Prime Minister on 7th July 2021. He is also Malaysia’s 18th Minister of Defense. He was sworn in on 10 March 2020 after previously serving as the Leader of the Opposition.
YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail was first elected into the Malaysian Parliament in 2004 at the age 44 representing the then newly created constituency of Bera. He was first appointed into the Malaysian Cabinet in 2008 as Minister of Youth and Sports, subsequently serving as the Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, and Minister of Rural and Regional Development.
As a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) since 1987, he rose through the ranks at both divisional and national level. He first served as a committee member at Temerloh’s divisional level in 1987 and was the head of its youth wing in 1993. He was elected as the deputy divisional head in 2001 and became the divisional head in 2004. At the national level, he was a member of the executive council of the national youth wing in 2000 and won a seat on the UMNO Supreme Council in 2008. YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri was elected as UMNO Vice President in 2018.
Prior to entering Parliament, YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri served as Chairman of the National Sports Complex and Political Secretary to the Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism. He was also a former Chairman for Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS) and Astronautic Technologies Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. He was also a former Deputy Chairman of Malaysia Tourism Board.
In recognition of his service to the state and nation, YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri has been awarded the Darjah Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP), Seri Panglima Darjah Kinabalu (SPDK) and Darjah Gemilang Seri Melaka (DGSM). He has also been awarded the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP), Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) and Ahli Darjah Kinabalu (ADK).
EDUCATION
POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT BODIES
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, assumed the office on 7 January 2019 for the fourth time after her party Awami League-led grand alliance won the December 30, 2018 11th Parliamentary elections.
Earlier, she served as Prime Minister for the first time in 1996-2001, second term in 2009-2013 and the third term in 2014-2018. Sheikh Hasina was the Leader of the Opposition in the 4th, 5th and 8th Parliaments.
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest of five children of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was born on 28 September 1947 at Tungipara in Gopalganj district.
She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. She has a checkered political career. She was elected vice president of the Students Union of the Government Intermediate Girl's College when she contested as a candidate from Students League. Later, she served as secretary and then as president of college unit of Student League.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with the members of his family was brutally assassinated on the fateful night of August 15, 1975. Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at that time. Later, she went to the United Kingdom from where she started movement against the autocratic rule in 1980. Sheikh Hasina was unanimously elected as president of Bangladesh Awami League in 1981 in her absence while she was in forced exile. She finally returned home on May 17, 1981 ending her six years in exile.
Sheikh Hasina continued her struggle and remained undaunted to ensure people’s right to food, vote and other fundamental rights ignoring numerous obstacles, including threat on her life. Under her leadership, people of Bangladesh achieved democracy and freedom of speech. Bangladesh earned the dignity of a lower middle-income country.
In the fourth term from 2019 to date, her government’s achievements include: Bangladesh’s graduation to developing country from LDC, pushing forward the work of Padma Bridge towards completion, trial run of Metro-rail in Dhaka. The connecting roads of several districts with Dhaka have been turned into four lanes, work on tunnel under the river Karnaphuli in Chittagong, Ruppur Nuclear Power plant and Matarbari multi-purpose project is progressing fast. Work on a good number of the proposed 100 SEZs and ICT parks at every division is going on. Current per capita income has risen to 2,591 while forex reserve to US$48 billion.
She was conferred honorary doctorate by Boston University, Bridgeport University, Barry University in the USA; Waseda University in Japan; University of Abertay in Scotland; Vishwa-Bharati University and Tripura University in India; Australian National University; Catholic University of Brussels; People’s Friendship University and State University of Petersburg in Russia; Dhaka University and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agriculture University. The University of Dauphine in France conferred diploma on her for her outstanding contribution to strengthen democratic process and empowerment of women.
Sheikh Hasina has been awarded with the UNESCO’s Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize 1998; Pearl S Buck Award 1999; CERES Medal by FAO; Mother Teresa Award; MK Gandhi Award; Paul Harris Fellow; Indira Gandhi Peace Award 2009; Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque in Kolkata; Paul Haris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Medal of Distinction in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and Head of State Medal in 1996-97 by the International Association of Lions Clubs, Global Diversity Award in the UK; and two South-South Awards. UNESCO honoured her with "Tree of Peace" in recognition of her outstanding contribution to promotion of girls' and women's education on September 8, 2014. She was awarded for Regional Leadership in Women’s Political Empowerment by Women in Parliaments Global Forum and Visionary Award by Global South-South Development Expo-2014. She was conferred on the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade ‘Champion of the Earth Award 2015’ in policy leadership category for her forefront role at home and abroad to face the adverse impacts of climate change. The International Telecommunication Union gave her the ‘ICTs in Sustainable Development Award 2015’ for her outstanding contributions in spreading information technology in the country. In 2016, Sheikh Hasina was conferred with the "Agent of Change" by the Global Partnership Forum and "Planet 50-50 Champion" by the UN Women for her outstanding contributions to women empowerment. In 2010, Sheikh Hasina received the UN award for Bangladesh’s MDG achievements for achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) particularly in reducing child mortality and in September, 2021 the UN sponsored Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) conferred Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with SDG Progress award for Bangladesh's steady progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Kevin Rudd became president and CEO of Asia Society in January 2021 and has been president of the Asia Society Policy Institute since January 2015. He served as Australia's 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, then as Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2012, before returning as Prime Minister in 2013.
As Prime Minister, Rudd led Australia's response during the Global Financial Crisis. Australia's fiscal response to the crisis was reviewed by the IMF as the most effective stimulus strategy of all member states. Australia was the only major advanced economy not to go into recession. Rudd is also internationally recognized as one of the founders of the G20, which drove the global response to the crisis and in 2009 helped prevent the crisis from spiraling into a second global depression.
As Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Rudd was active in global and regional foreign policy leadership. He was a driving force in expanding the East Asia Summit (EAS) to include both the U.S. and Russia in 2010. He also initiated the concept of transforming the EAS into a wider Asia-Pacific community to help manage deep-rooted tensions in Asia by building over time the institutions and culture of common security in Asia. On climate change, Rudd ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2007 and legislated in 2008 for a mandatory 20 percent renewable energy target for Australia. Rudd launched Australia's challenge in the International Court of Justice with the objective of stopping Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. Rudd drove Australia's successful bid for its current non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and oversaw the near-doubling of Australia's foreign aid budget.
Rudd is Chair of the Board of the International Peace Institute. He is a member of the IMF Managing Director’s External Advisory Group and the Global Leadership Council for Sanitation and Water for All. He is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House in London, a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Paulson Institute in Chicago. Rudd is a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons. He serves on the International Advisory Board of the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University. Rudd is proficient in Mandarin Chinese. He remains actively engaged in indigenous reconciliation.
He was a professor from 1991 to 2013 at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) which was transformed to Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) in 2012 and later became Chancellor from 2013 to 2017.
Dr. Yun participated in South-North Nuclear Talks as a special advisor from 1991 to 1992. He also advised the National Security Council, the National Assembly, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Unification and the National Intelligence Service. For the past 5 years, Dr. Yun served as a member of President Lee Myung-bak’s Advisory Council for Foreign Affairs and National Security and also served as a member of President Park Geun-hye’s Advisory Council for Foreign Affairs and National Security, and also a member of the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation. He will soon be officially appointed as Ambassador to Japan.
Education and Publication
Dr. Yun specializes in North Korea and international security. He received his Ph.D. in political Science from Keio University in 1991 and his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. He has published numerous books and articles. His recent articles include "ROK’s Response Options in a North Korean Contingency", "The Origin of North Korea Nuclear Problem" and "Envisaging Future of ROK-US Alliance." Born in Seoul on December 8, 1959.
Yi Xiaozhun served as Deputy Director-General of the WTO between 1 October 2013 and 31 March 2021.
Yi Xiaozhun has extensive experience in world trade and economics, both as a senior government official and subsequently as China's ambassador to the WTO.
He represented China as a key negotiator in China’s WTO accession process, making an important contribution to the negotiations.
Prior to becoming China's ambassador to the WTO in 2011, he was China's Vice Minister of Commerce in charge of multilateral and regional trade negotiations and cooperation. Besides his contribution to China’s WTO accession, he played a leading role in negotiating numerous free trade agreements (FTAs), including the China-ASEAN agreement, China's first FTA.
Born in Surakarta, Central Java on 21 June 1961, H.E. Ir. H. Joko Widodo, or popularly known as Jokowi, received his entire education from the public schooling system. He graduated from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in forestry, then he went to set up his own family business until 2005 when he successfully became the Mayor of his beloved birthplace.
In 2012, H.E. Ir. H. Joko Widodo elected as the Jakarta’s Governor. As Governor of the country's capital city, with his signature activities of blusukan (impromptu visit) he remained very close to the people, always advancing reformist agendas aimed at cultivating good governance and improving the livelihoods of the people.
On 20 October 2014, H.E. Ir H. Joko Widodo was sworn in as the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia and serves as the leader of the world's largest archipelagic state, largest Muslim population yet pluralist country, and 3rd largest democracy.
H.E. Ir. H. Joko Widodo is married to Iriana Joko Widodo. Together they have two sons, a daughter and already have four grandchildren.
