Benefits of integration to spread

Asean-BIS 2016 is being held on the sidelines of the 28th and 29th Asean Summits in Vientiane. The three-day event ends today.
The Asean Community provides opportunities not only for the |more than 620 million people in |the region but also for those outside it.
The role of the private sect|or remains a key element for |further implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) “Blueprint 2025” and regional economic integration.
It is recognised that greater involvement and more structured participation by the private sector will be beneficial to the achievement of Asean goals, according to a statement from the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Private-sector inputs and partnerships are essential not only in designing regional strategies and initiatives but also in identifying impediments to realising deeper regional economic integration, the LNCCI said.
Thongloun said the Asean-BIS was of utmost importance for the business sector as it brought together Asean entrepreneurs, the Asean Business Advisory Council and the Asean Young Entrepreneur Council to exchange views on important issues.
The AEC Blueprint 2025 outlines the measures that will be undertaken by Asean in the next 10 years as part of the bloc’s efforts to broaden economic integration, with a shared vision of creating a truly economically integrated region.
Thongloun said the effective and timely implementation of the AEC Blueprint 2025 required close and comprehensive cooperation between the public and private sectors to create favourable conditions for more seamless movement of goods, services, capital and skilled labour in Asean to enhance trade and production networks towards a more unified single market and production base for its companies and consumers.
“So this Asean-BIS provides an important platform for further strengthening public-private sector cooperation, coordination and collaboration in order to improve and simplify the processes,” Thongloun said.
Laotian Industry and Commerce Minister Khemmani Pholsena said the Asean-BIS this year highlighted “Turning Vision into Reality and Global Megatrends Impacting on the AEC”. It recognises that the world economy is increasingly defined and influenced by a variety of global mega-trends, such as digital globalisation with a plethora of new technology breakthroughs. Examples are advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, machine learning and the Internet of Things.
Other major factors include the shift in the world’s economic power, climate change, demographic and social changes, and the proliferation of global and regional value chains, which lead to far-reaching impacts on business, economies, industries, societies and individuals – and the Asean Community.
Khemmani said the global mega-trends had been reflected and focused in the AEC Blueprint 2025, and it was essential for Asean to recognise and capitalise on these in its regional integration agenda, including complementing regional and global free-trade agreements, fast-tracking business development and integration in energy, infrastructure and environment, AEC sustainable economic development, the future of technology, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as engines for growth and the role of youth and women in business, as well as trade and transport facilitation.
A statement by Oudet Souvan-navong, chairman of the Asean Business Advisory Council and LNCCI president, noted that since the first event in Bali in 2003, the Asean-BIS was considered to be Asean’s premier annual business and investment event, providing |a platform for the business community to engage with Asean and |global leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs and key decision makers.