Seminar: APEC: Striving to Stay Relevant in the 21st Century

ABOUT THE SEMINAR
APEC, as an economic forum, has come a long way since its inception in 1989. The most recent APEC Leaders’ Meeting was held in Manila, Philippines on November 18th-19th, where leaders from 21 member economies convened, discussed and addressed pertinent challenges that the Asia-Pacific region is facing, and charted a course for the 21st century. This seminar attempts to present some of these discussions. What are the key highlights of the Philippines’ chairmanship this year, and what can we look forward to as Peru plays host to APEC meetings in 2016? Furthermore, with the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and the ongoing Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks, how may APEC position itself as a relevant regional forum and what progress has been made on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) initiative? Issues with regards to slower growth prospects will be discussed followed by possible available policy tools for economies in the region.

The seminar will also present opinion-leader survey results through the “State of the Region,” an annual publication by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC).  The seminar will also cover the role of services sector in economic growth and employment generation in the Asia-Pacific economies.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Topic: Thriller in Manila? What has APEC Achieved this Year?
Alan Bollard is the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore, the body that promotes trade, investment and sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific. Dr Bollard advances APEC’s agenda by executing APEC’s work programmes as mandated by Leaders and Ministers.

Prior to joining APEC, Dr Bollard was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 2002 to 2012. From 1998 to 2002, Dr Bollard was the Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury. As the government’s principal economic adviser, he managed the Crown’s finances and helped guide economic policy. Dr Bollard has a PhD in Economics from the University of Auckland. He has since been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees. In 2012, he was honoured as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Topic: APEC Economic Analysis: Growth Softens as Challenges Intensify
Denis Hew is the Director of APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU), the research and analysis arm of APEC. He is responsible for the unit’s work program and operations. Before his current appointment, Dr Hew was Regional Cooperation Specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he managed technical assistance and coordinated efforts on regional cooperation and integration in the Southeast Asia department.

From 2001 to 2008, Dr Hew was Senior Fellow and Program Coordinator (Regional Economic Studies) at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Singapore. Dr Hew has written extensively on regional
economic cooperation and integration, especially in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region. Dr Denis Hew
holds an MSc and PhD in Finance from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

Topic: The State of the Region 2015-2016 Report
Eduardo Pedrosa is the Secretary General of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). He manages the PECC International Secretariat and represents the organization at international meetings.

Mr Pedrosa first joined PECC as its Director (Policy Program) in 2001 where he coordinated the Council’s research program in areas such as trade policy; financial and monetary cooperation; and corporate governance. Before moving to Singapore, he was the coordinator of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Southeast Asia cooperation program and the co-editor of its journal on regional economics and politics, “Panorama.” He is a co-editor of the book “An APEC Trade Agenda: The Political Economy of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific” (ISEAS, 2007). He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Topic: APEC Services Initiative and What to Expect in 2016?
Gloria O. Pasadilla is a senior analyst at the APEC Policy Support Unit, where she conducts research on regulatory issues affecting supply chain financing and service sector reforms in the Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining APEC, she was research fellow at the ADB Institute in Tokyo, and consultant for various government agencies and international organizations. She was the Philippine lead negotiator for services in the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) negotiation and was Convenor of the APEC Group on Services in 2007 and 2008. She has coedited several books on services trade and has published works as journal articles and book chapters. She holds a PhD in Economics from New York University, USA.

REGISTRATION

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 1 December 2015.