The ASEAN Awareness Forum was held from 22 to 23 March 2012 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rome, Italy. The forum was aimed at initiating, with a high-profile event at both policy and institutional level, a process promoting greater awareness in Italy and ASEAN member countries about the opportunities offered by the progress of free trade agreements and economic integration in one of the most dynamic areas of the world with over 600 million inhabitants.
The Forum was attended by high-level representatives of the 10 ASEAN member countries, His Excellency Dr. Surin Pitsuwan; ASEAN Secretary General, His Excellency Dr. Sok Siphana; Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia as the Chair of ASEAN and members of the Italian business community as well as representatives of the ADB, OECD, World Bank and UNIDO. Malaysia was represented by Her Excellency Datin Paduka Halimah Abdullah, Ambassador of Malaysia to Italy.
The meeting divided into two main events; the plenary and a business session; was officiated by His Excellency Mr. Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic. Minister Terzi highlighted that trade with the Asian region has become more crucial than ever before. Mr. Terzi pointed out that Italian export to ASEAN markets had been increasing rapidly, peaking at nearly US$ 6billion. However, Minister Terzi added that ASEAN market had only attracted less than 2 per cent of Italian exports. He emphasised that much can be done to improve the trade as Italy has a lot to offer. Italian companies need to play a stronger role within the emerging markets, where business opportunities are growing.
The Business Session consisted of four panels; Panel 1 – Infrastructure and Connectivity Development, Panel 2 – Industrial Cooperation: Mechanics, Panel 3 – Science and High Technology and Panel 4 – Consumer Goods and distribution. Each panel looked at how best to strengthen and fortify the collaboration between ASEAN and Italy in those specific areas.
The ASEAN Awareness Forum was the first initiative of its kind by a European country and it marked an important step ahead for further development of ASEAN – EU relations generally and ASEAN – Italy relations specifically. The Forum served as a platform to acquaint Italian entrepreneurs with trade and investment opportunities in ASEAN.
