ASEAN member countries need to collaborate to maximize investment potential in the region which is estimated to reach US$20 trillion by 2045, Chairman of the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid said.
“With ASEAN’s epicentrum of growth, we can realize the investment potential (reaching) US$20 trillion by 2045. This is a tremendous potential,” he said at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) here on Sunday.
This year’s ASEAN-BAC series, held on September 1-8, carries the theme “ASEAN Centrality: Innovating to Greater Inclusivity”. It is part of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, which is focusing on ASEAN development to become a fast-growing, inclusive, and sustainable economic region.
Through ASEAN-BAC, Rasjid said, Indonesia encourages the formation of a solid business ecosystem within the region, so that all member countries can grow together.
According to him, in the past, many parties were pessimistic over ASEAN’s move as a regional organization.
However, he argued, amid the increasingly tense geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges, ASEAN can remain resilient and is seizing the opportunity to become the center of global economic growth.
He also emphasized that the vision of ASEAN Centrality is not just about being in the strategic geographical position but also how to reconstructing the mindset of growing together.
Rasjid also talked about his trip around the regional bloc’s member countries to find solutions on how businesses in the region can grow.
“From the interactions (with ASEAN business players), we gathered all aspirations on how ASEAN should progress. Everything translates into policy recommendations,” he said.
The policy recommendations had been conveyed to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as the Chair of the 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship on September 1 at the Presidential Palace.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to attend the summit and will be meeting Chairman President Joko Widodo on the sidelines.
