ASEAN’s Future Remains Positive Amid Geopolitical Tensions In West Asia - Cheah

PETALING JAYA, March 16 (Bernama) -- The outlook for ASEAN remains optimistic despite geopolitical headwinds from the conflict in West Asia involving Iran and the United States, said Sunway Group founder and chairman Jeffrey Cheah.

Speaking at a public lecture titled “The Future of ASEAN in a Multi-Polar World”, he described the situation in West Asia as concerning but expressed confidence that better times could emerge as regional ASEAN member states navigate current challenges.

Cheah also commended Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for his leadership during Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship last year, noting that it helped elevate the region’s global profile.

“ASEAN has come a long way, and the Prime Minister has done a good job bringing ASEAN to the world and making the world realise that ASEAN is progressing well.

"When oil and related issues are managed, China and many parts of the world are doing their best to go green, which is fantastic and something we all support,” he said.

Meanwhile, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network president Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs said China’s currency, the yuan, could become a key global currency within 10 years.

He said the global payment system is undergoing significant changes as more countries turn to non-US dollar payment mechanisms.

“This is the main activity of the BRICS, which is to create ways to settle transactions that are not vulnerable to US sanctions, and everything that is happening right now is accelerating that,” said Sachs.

He said renminbi-denominated transactions could account for about 20 per cent of global settlements within the next 10 years, while settlements in the US dollar may fall below 50 per cent.

“This could weaken a powerful tactical tool of US influence, as the country’s financial leverage relies on a system that can increasingly be bypassed,” he said.

Sachs also said China is ahead in a wide range of future technologies, particularly in green technologies related to the energy transition.

These include renewable energy generation, photovoltaics, wind turbines, fourth-generation nuclear power and the hydrogen economy.

-- BERNAMA