The Role of Think Tanks in Facilitating Sustainable Development in Asia
The Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center was represented at the 4th Asia Think Tank Summit, this year held under the title of “Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian Landscape: Think Tanks as Catalysts for Policy Analysis and Implementation”, which took place in Seoul, Korea, on 8-11 June 2016. This marks the second time the Epl CRC has participated in the summit, which is a platform for discussions among leading think tanks in the Asia-Pacific region on regional and global issues, as well as on ways to resolve them amid the changing global order. About 80 delegates from 40 countries participated in this year’s event.
The Sustainable Development Goals referenced in the event’s title were announced at the UN Summit in September 2015, and build on 2000’s Millennium Development Goals. This new paradigm, due to run until 2030, is characterized by its ambitious encompassing of both development and poverty eradication, and by its emphasis on political stability, institution building, and peace as requisites for sustainable development – among others.
The event was initiated by the Think Tank and Civil Society Program at the University of Pennsylvania (TTCSP) and the Asia Development Bank Institute (ADBI), and co-hosted by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).