ASEAN businesses told to strengthen collaboration amid global uncertainty
KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN businesses should strengthen collaboration and seize opportunities within the regional bloc amid global economic uncertainty, said ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak.
The public and private sectors across ASEAN, as a region, must work together to capitalise on emerging prospects, he said.
'We all have to work together because we can do a lot more. Certainly, we take heed of what the government and the leaders are saying, and we want to do it.
'Of course, there are certain policy changes that would be helpful to us and that's what we're pushing for,' he told the media after the ASEAN leaders' interface with ASEAN-BAC representatives here today.
The interface was held in conjunction with the 46th ASEAN Summit.
Commenting on the interactions with the ASEAN leaders, Nazir said ASEAN-BAC has received positive responses from the member states on the 12 Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs).
'These projects are going to take time because even if the leaders welcome the projects, the officials will have to go through the policy implications and policy changes,' he said.
The PEDs are key economic initiatives designed to boost regional growth and integration, particularly under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) pillar.
The 46th ASEAN Summit spans two days starting today, and Malaysia is also hosting two key high-level engagements that coincide with it — the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit.
This year marks Malaysia's fifth time as ASEAN Chair, having previously held the chairmanship in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
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