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FEEDBACK FROM THE PARTICIPANTS
• Heads of Competition Agencies Meeting
On the sidelines of the Conference, an ASEAN,
Australia and New Zealand Heads of Competition
Agencies meeting was held on 27 April 2016. This
was a significant meeting, since it was the very first
one of such senior officials, responsible for competition
from ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand – partners
under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade
Agreement (“AANZFTA”). Themeeting provided a good
platform for senior representatives of the region’s
competition agencies to network, exchange views and
share experiences on the challenges being faced in
developing and implementing competition law.
The ICN Annual Conference in Singapore surpassed prior conferences and was the perfect setting for
meeting with colleagues in the competition community, sharing experience, and promoting international
convergence and cooperation. Themost useful programs, inmy view, were the interactive breakout sessions,
particularly those that used hypothetical case studies as a springboard for discussion. The gala dinner
at the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay was as delicious as it was beautiful. The farewell reception at
the Singapore Botanic Gardens was a nice opportunity to say goodbye to colleagues and appreciate the
beauty of Singapore and its many gardens.
Cynthia Lagdameo,
Counsel for International
Antitrust, US Federal Trade Commission
Thebreakout sessions inSingaporeprovided superbopportunities for detailedand lively discussions, engaging
with key topics. I would judge their success not by the audience size but rather by the quality of material
covered, which was really excellent in those sessions I attended.
Sean Ennis,
Senior Economist,
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
This annualmeetingwas professionally organised. All sessions and social eventswere carefully taken care of. I
especiallyenjoyedtheBOSonthespecialproject.Thediscussionsonadvocacystrategiesofcompetitionagencies
ondisruptive innovationswereespecially important given that thenewtechnologiesof networkeconomiesand
platforms arebecoming relevant toall economies. Social eventswerewell organisedandgave theopportunity
to rest and have an interesting informal exchange with practitioners and authorities.
Eduardo Pérez Motta,
Partner of AGON Economics Law
and Strategy, Mexico
I havegaineda lotmoreunderstandingof competition lawandpolicy fromthe ICNconference, particularly from
the sharing of case studies at the plenary and breakout sessions. The plenary by the advocacy working group
and the break-out session on technical assistance were very insightful, particularly for young agencies. The
Gala Dinner was perfect and very well-organised. I would like to expressmy sincere thanks to the Competition
Commission of Singapore (CCS) for the well-organised and insightful event.
Khouanchay Iemsouthi,
Deputy Director General of Domestic Trade
Department, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Lao PDR