Asean Urged to Join Hands

Asean has been urged to find ways for its member states to join hands to cushion any possible fallout from the trade war between the United States and China.

Making the call, Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking said a trade war between the two global economic superpowers would affect everyone, Bernama reported.

“In Asean, if we can find a way to get together, we can probably reduce the effect (of a US-China trade war). If the European Union are doing something, then Asean should also do something,” he told Bernama at the end of his three-day working visit to Thailand.

Asean, according to him, is very fortunate to have partners that want to work with the grouping such as Australia, New Zealand and even China to try to cushion the impact from the trade war.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son talked to the Vietnam News Agency about the significance of the 2018 WEF ASEAN to the country’s multilateral diplomacy strategy.

The World Economic Forum on ASEAN, to be held on September 11-13, is a key priority in diplomacy and one of the largest and most significant international events to be held in Vietnam this year. The forum will welcome dignitaries from ASEAN countries and beyond, leaders of nearly 1,000 leading ASEAN corporations and hundreds of foreign correspondents.

Some of the most innovative start-up companies from the ASEAN region will be featured for the first time at the meeting. Nearly 300 start-ups from across Southeast Asia have applied to join the meeting.