KUALA LUMPUR: The increase in the network of dialogue has brought the Asian region closer together, says Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Zeti said this trend coincided with Asia’s increasing significance, influence and integration in the world economy, with the region contributing to more than half of global growth since 2008.
“There is hence a growing international interest to better understand the region and the implications of the greater regional integration in Asia within the context of the global economy,” she said in her welcoming remarks at the BNM-Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Inaugural Kuala Lumpur (KL) Debate here yesterday.
The Governor noted that regional cooperation, such as the harmonisation of rules, liberalisation and deregulation in various economic sectors, enhancing regional safety nets, has been intensified since the Asian financial crisis.
According to Zeti, East Asia in particular has become more integrated than ever before as manifested by the size of intra-regional trade, which now accounted for about half of the region’s total trade in 2014.
“The increase in intra-regional investment flows, such as foreign direct investment for Asean, rose to 17 per cent in 2013 from 11 per cent in 2003,” she said.
The BNM-OMFIF KL Debate kicked off the second day of the 19th Asean Finance Ministers’ and Related Meeting yesterday.
The speakers included former Finance Minister of Indonesia Dr Muhamad Chatib Basri, European Investment Bank Permanent Representative in Brussels Dr Ben Knapen, University of Hong Kong Professor of Law Prof Chin Leng Lim and SAIS Europe Director Prof Michael Plummer.
The theme of the debate is “Regional Integration and Global Integration: Is There a Conflict?”.
Malaysia, which holds the chairmanship of Asean for 2015, will host the inaugural Asean Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Joint Meeting for two days starting yesterday.
Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship’s theme is “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision”. — Bernama