Asia Business Summit Joint Statement
Incorporating Korea Economic Cooperation Federation's Proposals on Data Regional Liberalization and Strengthening Trade Agreements in the Summit Joint Statement
The Korea Economic Organization Association (KEOA) announced on the 5th that it proposed joint responses to low birthrates and aging populations, as well as the liberalization of data movement within the region, to the business communities of 11 Asian countries.
On the same day, KEOA participated as the representative of the Korean business community at the '13th Asia Business Summit' held in Tokyo, Japan, presenting cooperation measures for sustainable development and prosperity in Asia. The summit was attended by 13 economic organizations from 11 countries including Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, India, and Singapore.
According to KEOA, the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of these 11 countries was $31.7 trillion as of last year. This is twice the size of the Eurozone ($15.5 trillion) in the same year and comparable to the North American three countries?United States, Canada, and Mexico ($31.3 trillion).
Ryu Jin, Chairman of KEOA, pointed out in his keynote speech on "Asia's Growth" that "the issues of low birthrates, aging populations, and productivity slowdown are common concerns not only for Korea but for Asia as a whole." This implies the need to enhance growth potential through regional cooperation.
Chairman Ryu stated that fostering artificial intelligence (AI) technology can increase Asia's growth potential. He emphasized the necessity of advancing AI technology through the liberalization of data movement between countries.
He said, "The performance of AI models improves as the amount of input data increases. Asia, which holds about 60% of the world's population, can dramatically develop its AI industry by enhancing mutual data accessibility."
He also stressed that Asia must unite to raise birthrates. Chairman Ryu said, "Among countries and regions with populations over 500 million, the top five with the lowest total fertility rates are all in Asia," and urged, "Asian business leaders should take the lead in jointly devising measures to address this common regional issue of increasing birthrates."
Kim Yoon, Vice Chairman of KEOA and Chairman of Samyang Group, delivered a presentation on promoting the digital industry, stating, "To enable free movement of data, Asia should establish universal norms for data movement and utilization similar to the European Union (EU) Data Governance Act."
Kim Chang-beom, Executive Vice Chairman of KEOA, proposed quantitative and qualitative improvements of regional free trade agreements, including expanding the membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and enhancing the level of trade liberalization within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The 13 Asian economic organizations participating in the summit adopted a joint statement based on the discussions held that day.
Among the proposals made by KEOA, "liberalization of cross-national data movement and establishment of interoperable data norms for AI industry development" and "promotion of free trade through improvements to CPTPP and RCEP" were ultimately reflected in the final statement.
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