Najib: Asia must collectively address challenges if region is to prosper

Najib delivering his keynote address at the 27th Asia-Pacific Roundtable.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Asia must collectively address the challenges of development, sustainability and conflict if the region is to prosper in the coming decades said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"We are writting the story of Asia; it may turn out to be the story of the century.

"We have a chance to make it one where all of our citizens are afforded the same rights and opportunities.

“To do this, we must confront three principal challenges," he said when delivering his keynote address at the 27th Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Monday.

Najib singled out climate change as the greatest challenge faced by Asia, which needs to be addressed globally in a united manner.

"In strategic terms, it is a 'threat multiplier': magnifying existing risks, increasing instability and making conflict more likely.

"Unless climate risks are controlled, competition for new resources, territorial change and disruption to trade patterns will the world manifestly unsafe," he added.