66th GBM Malaysia sets strategic course for sustainable productivity and regional growth

The inaugural GBM meeting was attended by representatives of the embassies of the four member economies and members of the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) board of directors. The meeting was chaired by Datuk Kamaruzzaman Johari, Director of APO Malaysia and Chairman of MPC. In his welcome address, he noted: “As we move forward, we remain steadfast in our determination to enhance Malaysia’s productivity and competitiveness and contribute to regional growth. Together, we can ensure that our region continues to thrive and bring prosperity to this and future generations.”

APO Secretary General, Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, reflected on a challenging yet fulfilling year, as the Secretariat embarked on key initiatives to enhance the organization’s accountability, transparency, effectiveness and impact, while delivering a heavy programmatic activity. He thanked APO members for their support and said: “These initiatives will lay a solid foundation for APO’s future in a rapidly changing global productivity landscape by refining our strategic focus and improving operational effectiveness and efficiency.”

The GBM deliberations included the APO Vision 2025: Pause and Reflection event, which aims to integrate a monitoring and evaluation framework to align project planning more closely with member needs. Another important milestone was the transformation of the Green Productivity (GP) concept developed by APO in 1994. The newly approved GP 2.0 approach and roadmap addresses current environmental and productivity challenges and marks a key step towards sustainable socio-economic development.

The conference also held the 2024 APO Awards ceremony, recognizing outstanding individuals such as Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of Planning, Development and Special Plans of Pakistan, and Datuk Wira Haji Ameer Ali Mydin, Managing Director of Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad, Malaysia, for their transformative contributions to productivity. In addition, the conference announced the accreditation of new certification bodies (CBs) under the Green Productivity Expert Program: Singapore National Productivity Organization Certification Body (SG NPO-CB); and Thailand’s FTPI Professional Certification Center (FTPI-PC). These APO-accredited CBs are part of efforts to enhance the capabilities of member certified productivity experts to drive the national and regional productivity agenda.

At the close of the GBM, APPO President and Fiji Director Jose Maritino Nemani 2024-25 highlighted the importance of recent efforts, saying: “We have made significant progress in improving the efficiency, accountability and impact of the Organization. These efforts are critical as we continue to develop and strengthen our long-term plans and international cooperation.” The outcomes of the 66th GBM underscore APPO’s commitment to promoting sustainable change and prosperity by improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

About APO

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) is a regional intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation. It is non-political, non-profit and non-discriminatory. APO was established in 1961 with 8 founding members and currently consists of 21 member countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

APO shapes the future of the region by providing national policy advisory services, acting as a think tank, undertaking institutional capacity-building initiatives and sharing knowledge to enhance productivity and promote socio-economic development of its members.

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Source: Asian Productivity Organization