CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia will fly to Vietnam this Tuesday for the two-day Asean 100 Leadership Forum, where she was invited to be one of the moderators.
A letter from Dato Timothy Ong, the forum convenor, states that leaders in government, business and civil society will gather in Hanoi, Vietnam to discuss the question, “How different will our future be?”
The forum will see discussions on the challenges that lie ahead of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and “what is required to meet them.”
“Our approach is to challenge conventional thinking and provoke debate. The Leadership Forum will also be a unique opportunity to get to know many of the men and women who will help shape the future of the Asean in the next decade,” read Ong’s letter.
Other participants
Aside from Garcia, those who will be at the gathering include Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, president of Timor-Leste and a Nobel peace laureate; Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam; Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Asean; and heads of business associations and government leaders of other countries.
Garcia will serve as moderator on the topic, “Governance: Can a country be managed like a company?”
The members of the panel will be Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, spokesman for the president of Indonesia, and Apirak Kosayodhin, governor of Bangkok, Thailand.
Other topics in the leadership forum will include strategies for companies and countries in the global economy, with Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala and a business leader from Malaysia.
Marketing trip
The gathering will also feature a debate on whether leaders should “forget” the Asean way and consider the European Union’s model of integration as the way to go forward.
Another session will also tackle climate change, and on whether responding decisively to the problem will mean slowing economic growth in the developing world.
Aside from Vietnam, the Cebu governor is also invited to head the delegation of the Philippines-France Business Council which will go to France in October.
Garcia will lead the delegation, consisting of officials from the Makati Business Club, the European Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders for a “business mission” to France.
Aurelio Montinola, chairman of the council, said the objective of the trip is to “re-engage” French businessmen to take “a second look at the Philippines” for investment. (JPM)
