We are caught in a web of tangled relationships, interactions, forces and influences. Lives are intertwined and interconnected. Local issues become global concerns while global issues shape local realities. The Brexit and the results of the recent presidential election in the US are examples of national events that have far-reaching global ramifications. In much the same way, the unprecedented robust growth and changes happening in the Asia Pacific region are influencing the rest of the world socially, economically and politically. The growing and relentless movements and flows of information, financial, material, human and natural resources from within and outside the region are increasingly gaining world-wide attention. As the region’s economy grows, so its political weight matters and draws serious global concerns. The Asia Pacific’s issues are truly global even as global concerns inevitably impinge on the life of the Asia Pacific region.

The dynamic, complex and interrelated factors and events that transcend national, regional and generational boundaries present opportunities and compelling challenges that need to be explored and understood so as to be responsibly managed with a view toward ensuring a sustainable future for all.

This year’s conference is a venue for sharing knowledge, mobilizing participation, galvanizing commitment, advocating knowledge-based policies and catalyzing actions for inclusive sustainable development, peace and security in the region and beyond. The world’s future is after all the region’s future and is inevitably a shared responsibility.