Indonesian prez, Vietnamese PM to attend WEF East Asia summit in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The president of Indonesia and the prime minister of Vietnam will be attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia on May 21-23, joining more than 600 participants from more than 30 countries who are expected to attend the regional event in Manila.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will attend the event, along with U Nyan Tun, the vice-president of Myanmar.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. and WEF Senior Director Sushant Palakurthu Rao presented the highlights of the meeting next week, which will also be attended by the following high-profile officials:

• Cambodia: Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister, Minister of Commerce
• Indonesia: Muhamad Chatib Basri, Minister of Finance; Muhammad Lutfi, Minister of Trade; and R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Malaysia: Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry
• Myanmar: U Win Myint, Union Minister of Commerce and U Win Shein, Union Minister of Finance and Revenue
• Korea: Lee Il-Houng, G20 Sherpa, Ambassador for International Cooperation
• Japan: Yasutoshi Nishimura, Senior Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office
• United States: Samuel J. Locklear III, Commander, United States Pacific Command
• Vietnam: Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
• International organizations: Takehiko Nakao, President, Asian Development Bank; Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund; and Rachel Kyte, Vice-President and Special Envoy, Climate Change, World Bank.

The regional meeting is themed "Leveraging Growth for Equitable Progress," and comes as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) prepare for economic integration next year. Participants are expected to deliberate the opportunities of the ASEAN Economic Community to promote greater inclusion across East Asia. The program is built on three pillars: achieving equitable progress, advancing models for sustainable growth and realizing regional connectivity.

“Over three billion people live in ASEAN, China and India, and in 2014, the whole East Asian region is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the world. Such progress is impressive only when industry and government leaders are fully committed to equitable distribution and inclusive growth,” said Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman.