Good leadership is critical to achieving strong economic growth, Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's Senior Minister, told participants at the closing session of the 16th World Economic Forum on East Asia.
“If you don't have a government that understands the importance of macroeconomic policies, investment in education, and how to manage socioeconomic divisions in a country, it would be difficult for an economy to thrive,” Goh said.
Asia is fortunate to have had “courageous” leaders such as China's Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, who steered their nations through difficult times, added Goh, who is also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. “If you have a bad or ugly government, then we would not be here to discuss the finer points of development.”
The World Economic Forum on East Asia brought over 300 business, government and civil society leaders from 26 countries to Singapore to discuss the key challenges facing East Asia. Under the theme “The Leadership Imperative for an Asian Century”, the two-day meeting was held in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).
During the closing session, Goh and other panellists discussed the results of a survey of participants aimed at identifying the top priorities for East Asia.
Selecting one priority for each of the meeting's four sub-themes, participants shaped the following agenda which will be used to guide further discussions on regional and globalissues at the Forum's Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, People's Republic of China, on 6-8 September 2007, and the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on 23-27 January 2008:
20240830145952.gif)
20240925092649.png)
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "UBM China (Shanghai)")
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
