PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE "INDONESIA: BETWEEN ASIAN REVIVAL AND GLOBAL CRISIS", 31 JULI 2008
SAMBUTAN
PRESIDEN REPUBLIK INDONESIA
PADA ACARA
PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE OLEH PROF. KISHORE MAHBUBANI
DENGAN JUDUL: INDONESIA: BETWEEN ASIAN REVIVAL AND GLOBAL CRISIS
DI ISTANA MERDEKA, JAKARTA,
PADA TANGGAL 31 JULI 2008
Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim,
Assalaamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh,
Salam sejahtera untuk kita semua,
Peace be upon us,
Honorable Professor Kishore Mahbubani,
His Excellency Ambassador of Singapore to Indonesia,
Mr. Christianto Wibisono, Chairman of Global Nexus Institute,
Ministers,
Distinguished Business Leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning,
It is a pleasure for me to welcome you all to another session of Presidential Lecture. I am pleased that today we will hear from one of Asia’s greatest strategic thinkers, a great intellectual, and a good friend of Indonesia.
Professor Kishore Mahbubani’s works and analysis on the geopolitics of Asia and the United States are of great interest to government leaders, academics, and policy makers around the world. And I am pleased that today we will hear more of his thoughtful analysis on our region. Asia is indeed rising – I cannot agree more with Professor Mahbubani’s thesis.
Those of us who have lived through two or three generations know by experience that the Asia of today is not the Asia of a few decades ago. Indonesia is a different nation today. China is growing five times faster than the average growth in the developed world, and is now the world’s third largest economy. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Taiwanese companies are buying American and European companies. And it is evident that globalization will increasingly have more and more Asian contents. The total sum is that the geo-economics and geo-politics of Asia have changed.
Clearly, there is a shift of economic and political powers in the world, the Economist predicted that between the year 2025 and 2030, three of the four largest economies will be Asian countries. We are, thus, seeing an Asia that is becoming more dominant, an Asia that is becoming more confident and relevant in the world.
In the international circuit of leaders, I also strongly feel this trend of rising Asia. I felt it in the last G8 plus 8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan, earlier this month, where Indonesia took part for the first time. Just last week, the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) came to Indonesia to foster OECD Enhanced Engagement Program with Indonesia – following China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. These are clear examples that the West are beginning to engage Asia more and more. As Asia is rising, perhaps we should ask ourselves the following questions: How can Asia sustain this rise? How do we deal with structural resistance to this rise? What are the “bumps in the road†and how should we face them? What challenges does Asia face from the traditional super powers? What is Indonesia’s role in this new Asia?
These are some of the questions that we will discuss today, and I hope Professor Mahbubani will help stimulate our discussion with his presentation.
I look forward to his remarks and our discussion.
Thank you.
Biro Naskah dan Penerjemahan,
Deputi Mensesneg Bidang Dukungan Kebijakan,
Sekretariat Negara RI