Tue, August 18 2009 - PUTRAJAYA: Government lawyers need to be continuously educated and trained to ensure their knowledge and skills are developed in tandem with current needs.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this was crucial so that they could rise to the challenges faced by the government in this era of globalisation where complex issues have emerged.

"The country needs the expertise of a legal mind to understand these complexities," he said at the opening of the 47th Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) here.

His speech was read by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He appreciated the efforts of the AALCO's centre of training and research which organised training programmes and internships to enable cross-fertilisation of ideas.

This initiative, he said, covered areas with regard to the recent developments in international law issues.

"The role of education, research and training as a transformation tool in developing human capital with expertise on various subjects of international law are entrenched in the training."

Muhyiddin said the meeting here came at a critical time when the world was facing a global financial meltdown.

As world economies became increasingly interconnected, globalisation had resulted in the liberalisation and integration of the economy, freer movements of capital, goods, services and investments, he said.

"Market liberalisation, if not properly strategised may result in economic disruption.

"We must together address ways to weather the turmoil by sharing our knowledge and experience," he said, adding that the AALCO must discuss intricate legal and economic issues on managing the global financial crisis.