Olten, 06 June 2017. Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Joselito A. Jimeno addressed the faculty and students and members of the business community at an event entitled, “ASEAN: One Identity, Multi Traits”. The event was organized by the ExploreASEAN and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) School of Business.
Prof. Dr. Markus Freiburghaus, Head of Education of FHNW’s School of Business, welcomed the delegates from the ASEAN embassies in Berne. In his message, he outlined the development of the Southeast Asia program at FHNW’s School of Business and expressed hope for the continued growth of the program in the future.
Ambassador Joselito Jimeno delivers his message to the faculty members and students of the University of Northwestern Switzerland
In his keynote address, Ambassador Jimeno stated that ASEAN has many faces and despite its diversity, the region strives for unity. “This diverse but complementary background is what has enabled ASEAN to weather the odds amidst the flux in the global system.
He said that the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is expected to further boost the region’s trade and make it more attractive to foreign investors.
“While ASEAN has achieved so much in 50 years, it continues to be a work in progress. As a partner, we seek Switzerland’s support to help us in our community-building efforts to realize our vision of a politically cohesive, economically integrated community,” added Ambassador Jimeno.
Ambassador Jimeno’s speech was followed by a video presentation celebrating ASEAN’s 50th Founding Anniversary. The presentation was then followed by a panel discussion facilitated by Prof. Dr. Freiburghaus.
Prof. Dr. Markus Freibrughaus (center) facilitates the panel discussion
During the panel discussion, Ambassador Jimeno was joined by Ambassador Linggawaty Hakim of Indonesia, Ambassador Pham Hai Bang of Vietnam, Counselor Sutthathip Vathitphund of Thailand, and Second Secretary and Charge d’Affaires, ai., Deborah Tan Sue-Yuen of Malaysia. The group shared their views on topics such as benefits from membership in ASEAN, challenges for ASEAN, free trade within the region and its trade relations with Switzerland, and prospects for ASEAN-Switzerland collaboration, among others.
The event provided an opportunity for the ASEAN group to promote ASEAN among the faculty members and business students of the FHNW, whose School of Business has a Southeast Asian Center. It also enabled the Philippines to inform the participants of the activities and priorities of its chairmanship of ASEAN.
At the closing ceremony, Prof. Dr. Crispino Bergamaschi, President of the University Board, joined the ASEAN officials and in his speech, outlined the activities of the FHNW in fostering relationships between Switzerland and the ASEAN region through university tie-ups and inclusion of ASEAN on the agenda of FHNW and its multi-degree programs with ASEAN universities.
ExploreASEAN is an international students’ project based at the FHNW’s School of Business. It was established to explore tie-ups between the business students at FHNW and universities in the ASEAN region. It was conceived in 2016 following the establishment of the Southeast Asia Center at the FHNW. END
