Jakarta (VNA) – The third ASEAN Think Tanks Summit (ATTS) opened at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on September 14, bringing together the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) Network, representatives of regional think tanks and ASEAN's dialogue partners.
The two-day forum provides a platform for researchers and policy experts to exchange views, challenge existing approaches and offer recommendations on key regional issues.
The participants said Southeast Asia is facing profound changes driven by major power competition, conflicts, climate change, and growing concerns over energy, food and technology security.
As these interconnected challenges increasingly transcend national borders, ASEAN needs stronger cooperation while maintaining its unity and centrality, they said.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said the regional and international environment is becoming increasingly competitive, complex and unpredictable.
The challenge for ASEAN is not simply to navigate these pressures, but also to preserve its unity, solidarity, centrality and sense of direction as it moves towards the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, he said.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency, Simon Tay, Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), said new challenges require new approaches.
Think tanks must come together to generate fresh ideas, question existing assumptions and explore new ways forward as the world changes rapidly, he said.
The participation of partners from Europe, China and Japan also demonstrates ASEAN's growing relevance beyond Southeast Asia, Tay added, praising Vietnam's contributions, including through the ASEAN Future Forum, in generating forward-looking ideas for the region.
Running through September 15, the summit will focus on four key areas: peace and dialogue; resilience and economic security; responsible, inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence; and transnational security challenges./.
