Remarks by:
Senator Mark S. Kirk (R-Ill.)
Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance 
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.)
Ranking Member,
Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Report Presentation by:

Mr. Olin L. Wethington
Senior Fellow,
Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Executive Director,
Project on Shaping the Asia-Pacific Future
Atlantic Council

Mr. Robert A. Manning
Senior Fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Atlantic Council

Moderated by:

The Hon. Paula J. Dobriansky
Senior Fellow,
JFK Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Harvard University
 

This event will feature remarks by Senator Mark S. Kirk (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and afterwards a moderated discussion between the Senators led by The Hon. Paula J. Dobriansky, Atlantic Council Board Director and Senior Fellow, JFK Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University. The authors of the report Mr. Olin L. Wethington and Mr. Robert A. Manning, Senior Fellows of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council will also present a summary of the report's recommendations.

The report makes the case that the goal of American economic policy in the Asia-Pacific region should remain an open, inclusive, market-oriented and rules-based order.The United States should not back away, despite challenges and rising powers. The report concludes that this objective can be achieved only if the US exerts a more pro-active leadership in Asia that goes beyond present levels of commitment. It outlines a set of recommendations for US policy that it hopes will stimulate further thinking.

This Atlantic Council report launch is part of the Project on Shaping the Asia-Pacific Future, which seeks to formulate practical policy recommendations related to some of the most pressing requirements for long-term security and prosperity in the region.