The World Economic Forum on East Asia ended Monday after two-day discussions on challenges and risks facing Asia, reaching the consensus that the region has gained remarkable recovery 10 years after the financial crisis but needs working together to face new threats.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed confidence at the welcome reception for participants that there is greater resilience in East Asia today compared to 10 years ago.

"Provided countries do not become complacent and make big mistakes, East Asia as a whole should continue progressing for many more years," he said.

The forum, organized by the Geneva-based organization World Economic Forum, has brought together over 300 business and political leaders from 26 countries to discuss the Asian issues.

Speaking at the opening session, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was also bullish about fast-emerging Asia, saying "Our time has come. Asia will be up to the task of leading our people and our region into a more dominant role in world economic and political affairs."

During the meeting, participants discussed four broad themes concerning an "Asian Century", namely Asian Leadership, Risk Management, Sustainable Growth and Competitiveness.

Participants agreed that Asia has been radically transformed now and the likelihood of another crisis is minimal. Bankruptcy laws have been tightened. Regulators now exercise much greater oversight over the banking sector, current account deficits have been turned into surpluses, and foreign exchange reserves are at all-time highs.

However, they warned that within this very success lies the seeds of new threats -- from mounting imbalance in the global economy, income disparity, terrorism to climate change and natural disasters.

Financial ministers from Singapore and Thailand warned that simple complacency over growing financial pressures could be Asia's greatest risk.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's Education Minister and Second Minister of Finance, said there is a big build-up in global finances and risks which is fueling fears of a big shock to come, "Although everything seems fine now, there are bubbles everywhere-- in commodities and even in property markets."

Recalling his nation's experience in touching off the crisis, Thailand's Minister of Finance Chalongphob Sussangkarn said global capital flows again pose a threat to stability.

"We're in a situation where there's no real correction mechanism, and we're hoping one day that the market will perform the correction," Chalongphob said. "If you let the market correct the mechanism, it will snap and bring about a huge amount of economic chaos," he added.

Talk about leadership, Arroyo said that the real issue facing the Asian countries is not about a leadership deficit, but the rapid economic rise of the region at a time when the global order has undergone enormous swings, citing the rise of China and India.

George Yeo Yong-Boon, minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, said that the key challenge for East Asia's leaders is to address the issue of urbanization and the growing income inequality between rural and urban areas.

Yeo also stressed the importance of preparing the next generation for globalization. "Countries which pay attention to education and value systems will do well. Those which neglect this area are not in the game," he added.

Concerning sustainable growth and protection of environment, participants urged the West to stop the hypocritical blame game and work collectively with developing countries to address the global warming problems.

Masatoshi Wakabayashi, minister of the Environment of Japan, said there is a need for a new global mechanism to achieve the G8 objective of reducing greenhouse emissions by half in 2050.

The Forum also agreed that Asia must nurture a culture of innovation if the region is to emerge as a competitive global player.

Malaysian Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop, whose country will host the next World Economic Forum on East Asia in June 2008, said in his closing remarks that it is rightly to discuss key challenges facing Asia at this forum.

"Because while we are now in a financially strong position, much stronger than even before the crisis. We should nevertheless be on the lookout for things on the horizon that can derail our efforts," he told the participants.