The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is an Asia-wide cooperative framework established in 2002 with 32 member countries across Central, West, East, South and Southeast Asia. The ACD aims to increase Asia's competitiveness through cooperation on issues like poverty alleviation, agriculture, infrastructure, finance, science and technology. Increased collaboration in areas like trade, academics, energy and financial stability would benefit communities across Asia and strengthen the region's position globally. While the ACD's informal structure has supported rapid membership growth, it also presents challenges for implementation that establishing a permanent secretariat could help address. Deeper interdependence and understanding between Asian states through forums like the ACD is important for regional stability and prosperity in an increasingly global

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Ms. Noppharat Thong-urai
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue and Its Importance for All of Us
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is an Asia-wide
cooperative framework established in 2002. The first ACD
Ministerial Meeting was held during June 18-19, 2002 in ChaAm, Thailand where 18 Asian Foreign Ministers met together
and agreed to initiate a forum in which all member countries
could discuss freely on their issues of interest and concern,
pool their knowledge and breakthroughs in different fields of
expertise on the basis of positive thinking and the comfort level
of participants. The very objectives of the forum are not,
however, to duplicate other organizations or create a bloc
against others. Rather, the ACD is essentially aimed to tap
Asia’s full potential of its rich natural, human and capital
resources to increase Asia’s competitiveness in the
international marketplace; to work together to alleviate poverty
and thereby improve the quality of life for Asian People; and to
form a single and independent entity which, in turn, could help
transform the Asian continent into an Asian Community. The
ACD will thus help supplement the workings of other
established cooperative frameworks and organizations.

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Since its inception, the ACD’s membership has expanded
from 18 to 32 countries encompassing five different
geographical areas of Asia: Central Asia, West Asia, East Asia,
South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Areas of cooperation include
the following: energy, poverty alleviation, agriculture,
infrastructure, financial cooperation, science and technology,
just to name a few. The cooperation are based on the core
values of the ACD which are positive thinking; informality;
voluntarism; non-institutionalization; respect for diversity; the
comfort level of member countries; and the evolving nature of
the ACD progress.
Arguably, the healthy and continued cooperation among
the ACD member countries is likely to benefit all sections of
community in the long run. Asia is home to approximately 3.7
billion, more than half the world’s population. The region
accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s exports and
global GDP. Asia’s total combined international reserves
amount to over one trillion US dollars, over half of the world’s
foreign exchange reserves. With its new growth trajectory and
abundant resources, the ACD member countries are willing to
move on the financial cooperation with the aim for their

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countries to gain better access to financial resources. The 1997
economic crisis has clearly demonstrated the imperative of
building a regional financial architecture to ensure financial
stability within the region.
Mutual collaboration on trade facilitation will also boost
free flow of products and diversify the markets within the region,
thus helping Asia to stand strong in the face of global recession.
Exchanges of academic prowess will increase negotiation
capabilities of Asian specialists on such international fora as
WTO, where most of Asian countries are still lacking wellgrounded professionals to represent their countries, especially
on agricultural issue which should actually be their comparative
advantage. Compounded with the idea of single identity, the
increase of expertise will definitely help the ACD members to
leverage their bargaining power on the global stage.
The issue of energy is another crucial area of cooperation
which is necessary for Asia’s sustained economic growth and
development. As the ACD consists of both major oil producers
and consumers, it has great potential to cooperate in the sector
for the common benefit of all members. The undisturbed growth

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and development within the region will therefore lead to the
trickle-down effect of economic gains to the vast majority.
The ACD’s core values, especially non-institutionalization,
voluntarism and informality appear to be both assets and
hindrance. On the one hand, they have made the forum more
appealing to Asian countries which are considerably diverse
and may have different targets of interest, thus being able to
expand its membership rapidly in only 11 years. On the other
hand, they have made the ACD’s functioning more difficult on a
practical level. Despite some limitations, however, the ACD has
already moved one step further by the expression of Kuwait to
host the ACD Secretariat which will serve as a tangible
mechanism through which the forum’s projects can be more
systematically monitored and implemented, closing the gap
between its core values and the requirements for the effective
implementation of activities.
In the age of globalization when the importance of media
and public is growing, and the use of military resources is
becoming more costly, increased interdependence of all
sectors among Asian states through this kind of consultative
framework is therefore desirable and could help build enabling

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environment of mutual understanding and trust, which is, in turn,
conducive to the stability and prosperity of the region as a
whole, making the future of pan-Asian community more
promising.
References:
Asia Cooperation Dialogue’s Formal Website. About ACD;
Executive Summary. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from
http://www.acddialogue.com/about/#01
Norafidah Ismail. (22 May 2013). The Asia Cooperation
Dialogue (ACD): Progress and Potential. Retrieved
October 13, 2013 from
http://www.mei.edu/content/asia-cooperation-dialogueacd-progress-and-potential
Manaspas Xuto. (2005). Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) –
The Way Forward for Asia. Retrieved October 13, 2013
from

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http://th.thaiembassymoscow.com/articles/?section=s2
&artid=27