Preliminary Conference Topics

Wednesday, June 8

6:00 pm Opening Reception & Dinner

Keynote Address by:
Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister, Thailand

Thursday, June 9

9:00 am Opening Keynote Address:
Surakiart Sathirathai, Deputy Prime Minister, Thailand

9:45 am Morning Keynote Address:
Kantathi Suphamongkhon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand

10:15 am – 12:00 pm
Session 1: After the Tsunami: Rebuilding and Recovery Across South and Southeast Asia

• Six Months After the Crisis: Assessing Critical Needs and Moving Forward with Rebuilding and Reconstruction
• Economic Growth Through Construction and Infrastructure Industries Development
• Medium and Long-term Impacts on the Tourism Industry
• Crossing Boundaries: Enhanced Cooperation with Separatist/Minority Cultures in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India
• Preparing for Disaster: How Regional Cooperation Efforts Can Avert Future Tragedy
• Assessing the Effects of the Relief Effort on Long-term Intra-Regional Relations and Relations with the U.S.
• Implications of the New Political and Economic Leadership in Southeast Asia

Panel Participants:
Sicille Kotelawala, Ceylinco Consolidated, Sri Lanka
James Lee Witt, Former Director, FEMA; Chairman & CEO, James Lee Witt Associates
Mechai Viravaidya, Chairman and Founder, Population & Community Development Association
Adam Schwarz, Senior Fellow, McKinsey Global Institute
Amal Naj, Country Manager, Thailand & Indochina, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited

Moderator:
John Bussey, Deputy Managing Editor, The Wall Street Journal

12:00 – 1:00 pm All-Delegate Lunch

1:00 – 2:30 pm
Session 2: Does Thailand’s Economic Resurgence Represent a Sustainable Growth Model?

• Domestic Demand in Thailand’s Recovery: Credit Boom or Market-Led Development?
• Corporate Governance Reform: Rhetoric or Reform?
• Clearing Bank NPLs: How Much Further to Go?
• Human Capital Formation: Early Results of the 1999 National Education Act
• Assessing the Challenges of Thailand’s Business Environment & Establishing a Strong Legal Framework
• The Financial Sector Master Plan: Will New Rules Lead to a More Efficient, Competitive Sector?

Panel Participants:
Pote Videt, Managing Director, Lombard Investments, Ltd.; Trustee, Asia Society
Matthew P. Daley, President, US-ASEAN Business Council
Paul Riley, General Manager, Philip Morris Thailand
Sathit Sirirangkamanont, Secretary-General, Board of Investment of Thailand

Moderator:
Reginald Chua, Editor, The Asian Wall Street Journal

2:30 pm Afternoon Keynote Address:
Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister, Singapore

3:15 – 3:30 pm Coffee Break

3:30 pm Keynote Remarks:
Viset Choopiban, Minister of Energy, Thailand

4:00 – 5:30 pm
Session 3: Meeting Southeast Asia’s Energy and Infrastructure Needs

• Thailand's Oil & Gas Industry: Infrastructure Development
• Oil and Gas: Local Supplies and Import Security
• Completing the Regional Power Grid
• Alternate Energy Prospects and Pitfalls (Hydropower/ Wind Energy)
• Southeast Asia’s Developing Infrastructure: Can It Keep Pace with the Region’s Economic Expansion?

Keynote Remarks by:
Dr. Kim Hak-Su, Under Secretary-General of the United Nations; Executive Director, United Nations Economic and Social Committee for Asia-Pacific

Panel Participants:
Stephen W. Green, Chairman, Unocal Thailand, Ltd.
Ernest Z. Bower, Partner, BrooksBower Asia
Anon Sirisaengtaksin, Senior Executive Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Development, PTT Public Company Limited

Moderator:
Marcus Wright, Senior Editor, Dow Jones Newswires

Friday, June 10

8:00 am Welcoming Remarks

8:15 am Keynote Remarks by:
Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

8:45 am Keynote Remarks by:
Somsavat Lengsavad, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

9:15 am Keynote Remarks by:
Watana Muangsook, Minister of Industry, Thailand

9:35 – 11:00 am
Session 4: Achieving Trade Liberalization & Drawing Foreign Investment in Southeast Asia’s Key Sectors

• Progress of Integration in ASEAN’s Fast Track Sectors: Assessing the Tangible Results
• The U.S.-Thailand FTA: A Model for the Region? Is Bilateralism the Way Forward?
• Industry Focus :
• Automotive: Thailand as a Manufacturing Hub of an Integrating ASEAN
• Aviation: Moving Toward Open Skies
• Agribusiness: Overcoming the Prevalence of Protectionism
• Electronics: The Vanguard Sector for Regional Free Trade

Keynote Remarks by:
Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Laura Cha, Member, Executive Council of the Hong Kong SAR
Rajat M. Nag, Director-General, Mekong Department and Special Advisor to President, Asian Development Bank

Panel Participants:
Stephen Biegun, Vice President for International Government Affairs, Ford Motor Company
Nitya Pibulsonggram, Chief Negotiator for Thailand-US FTA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand

Moderator:
Myron Brilliant, Vice President for Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

11:00 – 11:15 am Coffee Break

11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Session 5: The “India Factor”: Building a New Relationship with South Asia

• India’s New Leadership: Renewed Interest in an Economic Partnership with Southeast Asia?
• Building on the Thailand-India FTA: New Opportunities for Investors
• Indian Economic Reform and Cooperation in the IT and Manufacturing Sectors
• India as a Growth Driver for Thailand’s Exports
• ASEAN and the India-China Relationship

Keynote Remarks by:
Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, India

Panel Participants:
Rajive Kaul, Chairman, NICCO Corporation; Former President, Confederation of Indian Industry

Moderator:
Mike Gonzalez, Editorial Page Editor, The Asian Wall Street Journal

12:15 – 1:15 pm All-Delegate Lunch

1:30 pm Keynote Remarks:
Thanong Bidaya, Minister of Commerce, Thailand

2:00 – 3:30 pm
Session 6: Implications of China’s Rise and Japan’s Recovery

• The Rise of China: ASEAN’s Competitor or ASEAN’s Collaborator?
• China’s Role in Sustaining Export Growth in Thailand and the Region: The World’s Largest Market Takes Shape
• China’s New Diplomatic Initiatives in the Region
• Thailand’s Leadership in the China-ASEAN Security Dialogue
• Japan’s Role in Post-Crisis ASEAN: The Japanese Recovery and Its Significance for Southeast Asia
• Japan’s Role in Building Regional Financial Institutions

Panel Participants:
Charlene Barshefsky, Former U.S. Trade Representative; Senior International Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman, Hang Lung Properties Limited, Hong Kong; Trustee, Asia Society
Kevin M. Rudd, MP, Federal Member for Griffith; Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Security, Australia
Makio Miyagawa, Director, Japan Institute of International Affairs

Moderator:
Hugo Restall, Editor, Far Eastern Economic Review

3:00 – 4:30 pm
Concluding Discussion: The Path Ahead for Thailand and Southeast Asia

Discussants:
Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
Robert Morse, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate & Investment Bank, Asia Pacific, Citigroup, Inc.
Ralph Boyce, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand

Moderator:
Vishakha N. Desai, President, Asia Society

4:30 – 5:30 pm Closing Reception

AGENDA SUBJECT TO CHANGE