AWI Welcome Address - Nov 8, 2007 -

AWI Welcome Address - Nov 8, 2007 -

Kazuo OIKE

Good Evening. As President of Kyoto University and as a member of the governing board of the AWI, I’d like to offer a warm welcome to all of you.

The principal objective of this 2007 AWI workshop – the third workshop to be held by the AWI – is to develop and strengthen international, interdisciplinary networks of experts on various aspects of economic integration in the Pacific Rim.

The organizing committee of this workshop first gathered in Kyoto in January 2007 and eagerly discussed how to proceed with organizing the workshop. A key person in the undertaking is clearly Dr. Richard Drobnick, and without his devoted efforts, this workshop could not have been held. I’d also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Kohsaka of Osaka University who made numerous arrangements to invite many important speakers.

With the efforts of these two key persons as well as the efforts of the AWI secretaries and many Kyoto University faculty and staff members, we have successfully invited two keynote speakers and more than thirty panel speakers, not only from APRU member universities, but also from non-APRU member institutions. In particular, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to both Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee and Dr. Toyoo Gyouten for the time and effort they have put into this workshop.

I sincerely hope that this workshop will contribute to successful economic integration in this area and will produce fruitful results.

I hear that a continuation of the first AWI workshop on climate change is planned for the near future, and Kyoto University has decided to positively participate in that event. I hope that this workshop will also be a starting point for continuing productive efforts.

Thank you once again for your participation.