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Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia's minister of international trade andindustry, keeps asking the same question to businessmen he met atthe World Economic Forum on East Asia - "what do you want ourgovernment do to improve connectivity and facilitate business?" Mohamed is among the many businessmen, officials and leaders fromacross East Asia who gathered in Thailand's capital of Bangkok onThursday to discuss and pave the way for better connectivity andintegration in the region. "To address the challenges of global economic turmoil, we mustcontinue promoting regional cooperation and integration. And thekey to this is connectivity," said Thai Prime Minister YingluckShinawatra. Yingluck said physical connectedness comes first in buildingconnectivity, citing infrastructure projects such as the Singapore-Kunming railway link that will connect Thailand with northernChina, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore. But non-physical infrastructures must also be addressed, shestressed, such as laws and regulations that will ensure free cross-border movements of people and goods while at the same timestrengthen security and prevent illegal activities such as drugsmuggling. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the future ofASEAN is not just about economic targets but also about achievementof peace and stability across the region. The new architecture isnot limited to the 10 member states of ASEAN, but also includesChina, Japan, India, South Korea, Russia and the United States. "Regional cooperation and connectivity will help strengthen theresilience of East Asian nations to external shocks," said NguyenTan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam, alluding to the economicproblems in Europe and the U.S. that threaten to affect theeconomic fortunes of Asian economies. Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong stressed the need to narrowdevelopment gaps among ASEAN members. He said Laos attaches greatimportance to regional connectivity to transform the country from alandlocked to a land-linked nation. Prince Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, said ASEAN serves asan inspiration to the world's other regional groupings, includingthe Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Bahrain is a member. The GCC"has made great strides in the last 30 years," he said. "We are nowworking to develop this to reach the stage of union and achievegreater economic cooperation." "What we are trying to do today is to facilitate trade, eliminatebarriers, from customs tariff reduction, credit facilitiesavailability, logistics and connectivity," said KittirattNa-Ranong, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofFinance. While the visions of so many leaders are not easy to swallow in aday, Mohamed found his answers at a penal discussion on supplychain. "Governments often think low cost labor is the main attraction forinvestors. That's very wrong. Productivity, infrastructure andpeople's skill level are often more important," said MarceloClaure, president of Brightstar, a global second-hand cell phonereseller. Aloke Lohia, CEO of Indorama Ventures, a global petrochemicalcompany, added that strong utility and logistics supply at lowprices also attract business. "These are all useful advice as we try to make policies asencouraging as possible for further economic integration," Mohamesaid. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as 15HP Outboard Motors Manufacturer , 40 HP Outboard Motor for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Gas Outboard Motor.
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