Ambassadors Lecture Series of AEI
by His Excellency José Luis PARDO CUERDO, Ambassador of Spain to Malaysia & Brunei
Date: 17 October 2023 (Tuesday)
Time: 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Venue: Auditorium, Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya
Moderator: Distinguished Professor Dato' Dr. Rajah Rasiah, Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya
The European Union is a unique regional integration process both in legal and political terms. The core reason of its "uniqueness" and what differentiates it to other important regional processes - like ASEAN, African Union, Mercosur or Arab League to mention but a few- is that it lies not just on a common will to cooperate, collaborate, integrate or distribute competences but on real transfer of State sovereignty. Taking into account this essential element is paramount to fully and correctly understand the European Union. This fact has extraordinary direct consequences for the legal, judicial and political systems of the EU 27 Member States who enjoy the benefits of integration in exchange of scarifying own sovereignty in many fields. This affects not only Member States but also the daily lives of their citizens and the shaping of a collective European identity.
It explains too the high degree of complexity of the EU institutional framework and policy-making processes, their strengths and shortfalls it affects the role of UE as an International global player too. The European construction began on 1957 and its main objective remains unchanged: to get an ever-closing union among their members internally and to act as a promoter of peace, prosperity, human rights, sustainable development and economic cooperation worldwide. The conference will try -in a straightforward and practical approach- to give clues for interested audience to better understand the EU.
H.E. José Luis PARDO CUERDO, born on August 22, 1967, in Segovia, Spain, is a seasoned diplomat and legal scholar. With a degree in Law, he has held key roles in Spanish diplomacy, including Deputy Head of Mission in Tripoli and Amman, Counsellor in Berlin, and Ambassador in Niger. His career highlights also include serving as Deputy Director General for General and Economic Affairs of the European Union and Ambassador in Special Mission for Migratory Affairs.
Throughout his career, he has received several honors, such as Commander of the Order of Civil Merit and Commander of the Order of Merit of Niger. In addition to his diplomatic accomplishments, José Luis is well-educated, holding a degree in Art History and a Diploma of Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.
Currently, he serves as the Ambassador of Spain to Malaysia & Brunei, a position he assumed on August 4, 2022, further solidifying his role as a respected figure in the field of international diplomacy.
Distinguished Professor Dato’ Dr. Rajah Rasiah obtained his doctorate in economics from Cambridge University in 1992 and served as a fellow at Harvard University in 2014. He was also the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at UNIMAS (1999-2000), and at Faculty of Economics and Administration in the University of Malaya in 2009–2010 and 2013–2014. He also holds professorial fellow positions at the Centre for Rising Powers in Cambridge University, UNU-MERIT, and Technology Management and Development Centre in Oxford University. Among his prestigious awards include the Cambridge Journal of Economics Award by the Cambridge Political Economy Trust in 1992, the Robert McNamara Award by the World Bank in 1993, the Celso Furtado Prize for advancing the frontiers of Social Science thought (Economics) from the World Academy of Sciences in 2014, and the Merdeka Prize under the category of scholastic achievement in 2018 from the Merdeka Prize Committee. He was awarded the Distinguished Professor of Economics Position by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia in 2017.
2:00 pm: Arrival of Guests & Registration
2:30 pm: Welcoming remarks by Associate Professor Dr. Roy Anthony Rogers, Deputy Executive Director (Internationalisation, Research, Value Creation & Enterprise), Asia-Europe Institute
2:35 pm: Remarks by the moderator, Distinguished Professor Dato’ Dr. Rajah Rasiah, Executive Director, Asia-Europe Institute
2:40 pm: Lecture by His Excellency José Luis PARDO CUERDO, Ambassador of Spain to Malaysia & Brunei
3:20 pm: Q&A
4:00 pm: Closing
4:05 pm: End of session followed by refreshments
Last Update: 21/09/2023
