Satvinder Singh took office as the new Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community on the 26th of March, 2021. The UK-ASEAN Business Council is honoured to host Deputy Secretary-General Singh to a conversation with partners to explore how the UK business community and ASEAN can collaborate and work closer together.

Deputy Secretary-General Singh is focused on the delivery of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025. The blueprint is an aspiration held by the 10 member states of ASEAN to be, by the year 2025, A) a highly integrated and cohesive economy, B) a competitive, innovative and dynamic ASEAN with C) enhanced connectivity and sectoral cooperation, by remaining D) resilient, inclusive, people-oriented and people-centred and becoming a E) global ASEAN.

In April, the ASEAN Secretariat released the Mid-Term Review of the AEC Blueprint 2025 that assessed progress to date since it was launched in 2015. The report noted that Post-COVID AEC will be defined by the following major trends:

1. Some restructuring and diversification of global and regional value chains, and a refocusing on supply chain resilience over the past primacy of efficiency.

2. Acceleration of digital transformation, adoption of new technology, and urgency to address digital poverty and inequality.

3. Return of the call for macroeconomic coordination and multilateral institutions’ support to avert another crisis.

4. Demand for a more inclusive and equal AEC, with a clear agenda on the narrowing of the development gap.

5. Continued geo-economic and geostrategic competition and the risks it imposes on ASEAN centrality.

6. Growing and widespread expectations for sustainability, from consumers, investors, financiers, and industries to the future generations.

The roundtable will be an opportunity to also hear about the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework which includes ‘Enhancing Health Systems’ and driving ASEAN’s digital and sustainability agenda.

Areas of discussion

• Priorities for trade and investment facilitation in ASEAN
• How is ESG investing being encouraged in ASEAN?
• What are the possible areas of collaboration on sustainability with ASEAN as the UK Chairs COP26
• ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Mid-Term Review
• The ASEAN Comprehensive Response Framework and an update on ASEAN’s response to covid19.

This event is for UKABC board members and partners. To find out more about partnership opportunities contact ken.wells@ukabc.org.uk.

Programme

9.00 Welcome remarks

• Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Chair, UK-ASEAN Business Council

9.05 Partner conversation

• H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community, ASEAN Secretariat

Chaired by Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Chair, UK-ASEAN Business Council

10.00 Roundtable concludes

Biography

Satvinder Singh is the Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community for 2021-2024. He will support the Secretary-General of ASEAN by providing leadership in the implementation of the AEC Blueprint 2025 and will lead the AEC Department of the ASEAN Secretariat. He will also provide strategic advice to advance ASEAN’s economic integration agenda

Before assuming this role, he was the Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Trade Connectivity & Business Services at Enterprise Singapore, where he was instrumental in strengthening Singapore’s role as Asia’s trading hub, supporting the growth of 15,000 professionals, managers, executives and technicians jobs.

With over 27 years of experience, he has held a variety of local, regional and global management positions across the region. At Enterprise Singapore, Mr Singh oversaw four divisions and drove digitalisation efforts in Singapore amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Singh holds a Bachelor degree in social sciences from the National University of Singapore and attended Harvard’s Business School Advanced Management Programme in 2017.

Further reading

ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025. ASEAN Secretariat

ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Mid Term Review Report.

ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and its Implementation Plan. ASEAN Secretariat

ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Consolidated Strategic Action Plan. ASEAN Secretariat

Video overview of the ASEAN Economic Community. ASEAN Secrertariat

Cari: Asean needs to work harder to remove more non-tariff barriers. The Edge Malaysia

UK-ASEAN Factsheet. Gov.UK

UK seeks to boost ties with Southeast Asia through ASEAN. Gov.UK