47th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting (AJBM) Preparatory Meeting on 8 October 2021

AJBM Malaysia, represented by MAJECA, attended the 47^th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting, (AJBM) Preparatory Meeting on 8 October 2021 which was hosted by the Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee (PHILJEC) alongside Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).

This meeting was chaired by Mr Gerard B. Sanvictores, Chairman, 47th AJBM & Chairman, PHILJEC and co-chaired by Mr Nobuhide Hayashi, Chairman of Asia-Japan Relations Project Team, Keizai Doyukai.

Attendees from the AJBM Malaysia Committee comprised:

Datuk Seri Mohamed Iqbal, Vice-President, MAJECA
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Michael Yeoh Oon Kheng, Hon. Secretary, MAJECA
Ms Ng Su Fun, Executive Secretary, MAJECA

Representatives from Keizai Doyukai, Japan and the ASEAN AJBM Steering Committees were in attendance.

The meeting discussed the outcome of last year’s 46th AJBM successfully held virtually in March 2021.The 47^th AJBM is tentatively scheduled to be held in Manila, Philippines in March 2022.

The 47th AJBM Preparatory Meeting discussed key and relevant issues affecting the region and the business community, especially in the light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation affecting all our respective countries. The preparatory meeting covered the following:

The 47th AJBM will be a held in a hybrid format across three days with key parts of the meeting hosted in Manila with an option for virtual attendance to lower hurdles for participation. The meeting format will be finalised by the end of this year.
The proposed theme for the 47^th AJBM will be “Beyond COVID-19: Envisioning the Future with Digitalisation in ASEAN and Japan”. The Meeting will continue to encourage closer public-private partnership with the involvement of Governments.
Potential topics of the Meeting include:
- Rebuilding the Healthcare System;
- Responding to Climate Change: Renewable Energy and Green Business;
- Paving the Way to New Normal through Digitalisation;
Topics raised at the 45^th and 46^th AJBMs will continue to be kept in view, this includes, Digitalisation, Start-ups and Sustainability (especially the SDGs).