Jakarta, 6 April 2023: The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) was recognised for its outstanding contributions to the formulation and development of the Comprehensive Asia Growth Plan 3.0 (CADP 3.0) and negotiations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) during  the 15th Academic Advisory Council (AAC) Meeting on 6 April 2023. ERIA organised the virtual meeting.

AAC is composed of internationally renowned scholars and experts from universities, research institutions, the private sector, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations in the East Asia Summit countries, and advise and support ERIA on its annual work programme, research outcomes, and performance of researchers.

The meeting was attended by AAC Chairperson Dr Hank Lim, Senior Research Fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs; Emeritus Professor of Economics Prof Peter Drysdale, Head of the East Asian Bureau of the Economic Research and East Asia Forum, Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University; Prof Gary Hawke, Emeritus Professor of Victoria University of Wellington and Associate Senior Fellow at New Zealand Institute of Economic Research; Prof Zhang Yuyan, Director and Senior Fellow of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Dr Shankaran Nambiar, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Policy Studies Division of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research; Mr Pravin Agrawal, Senior Consultant of India; and Mr Michikazu Kojima, Senior Advisor to the President of ERIA on Environmental Issues, representing Prof Kyoji Fukao of the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization. Dr Lim moderated the meeting.

ERIA President Hidetoshi Nishimura reported that ERIA’s completion of the Comprehensive Asia Growth Plan 3.0 (CADP 3.0) was a significant accomplishment for the ASEAN Summits in 2022, offering major policy recommendations for the continued development of the East Asia Summit region. Prof Nishimura said that ERIA is developing a new digital innovation and sustainable economy centre to put CADP 3.0 recommendations into action. This, he added, will be a crucial deliverable for Indonesia's ASEAN presidency in 2023 and the 50th anniversary of ASEAN–Japan friendship and cooperation. ERIA will support India's Group of 20 (G20) presidency and Japan’s Group of Seven (G7) presidency.

Mr Koji Hachiyama, ERIA’s Chief Operating Officer, said that ERIA will support Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship agenda, particularly the main economic deliverables on food security, blue economy, and energy security. He emphasised that the new digital innovation centre will focus on critical areas such as free flow of data with trust and digital ecosystem, cybersecurity, start-up support, and smart cities. He added that ERIA will support the agenda of various G20 working groups and attend meetings on energy transition, agriculture, and trade and investment. For Japan's G7 Presidency, Mr Hachiyama said ERIA will support  digital, trade, and energy transition areas.

ERIA’s Chief Economist Prof Fukunari Kimura and ERIA’s Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment Prof Jun Arima presented the organisation's research activities in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and FY2023.

The council suggested that ERIA observe the intersection between the new strategies and priorities for the increasingly fragmented trade and investment environment that impact supply chains, digital transformation, and development in ASEAN, on the one hand, and the dynamism of East Asia, RCEP and its framework, and pathways to regional integration with CADP 3.0, on the other.

Prof Drysdale asserted the need to understand the capacity of the region to be centripetal forces of global economic development. He suggested that ERIA’s future research be focused on getting a strategic bid on policy implementation across the intersections of the said themes, especially now that the intersections are apparent. The council members agreed on the importance of the Centre for Digital Innovation and Sustainable Economy.

Mr Tetsuya Watanabe, Special Advisor to the President of ERIA, noted that global, regional, and policy priorities have changed dramatically and rapidly over the past 15 years. ASEAN needs to facilitate the energy transition to carbon neutrality and digital innovation, as well as trade liberalisation. Emphasising the need for ERIA to continue to be relevant to the rapidly changing regional and global environment, he suggested that its activities be mission oriented, demand , and involved in active interaction with political and business leaders, start-ups, and civil society. He was impressed and grateful to see the remarkable achievements of ERIA.

In closing, Dr Lim cited ERIA’s participation in the G20 meeting in Indonesia in 2022 as concrete evidence of its emergence as a new entity. He said that ERIA’s digital innovation and sustainability centre would provide cutting-edge research and a more effective and faster pathway for a deepening, inclusive, sustainable economy.