Malaysia urges ASEAN to enhance ICT cooperation with RoK
Malaysia has called on ASEAN to continue to enhance cooperation in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector with the Republic of Korea (RoK) to further accelerate the regional digital economy.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (AFP/VNA)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia has called on ASEAN to continueto enhance cooperation in the information and communication technology (ICT)sector with the Republic of Korea (RoK) to further accelerate the regional digital economy.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin highly regarded the RoK as aworld-leader in ICT who is making use of the digital economy to further driveproductivity.
Cooperation between ASEAN and the RoK in the propagation of digital economywould provide the technology-savvy masses with the means to engage in digitaleconomy and ultimately enhance the productivity and economic output of ASEANMicro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), despite the currenteconomic slowdown caused by COVID-19, he said in the 21st ASEAN-RoK Summit onNovember 12.
The summit, which was held as part of the 37th ASEAN Summit, was hosted byVietnam via video conference due to the ongoing pandemic.
Muhyiddin said with a population of more than 650 million people and acombined gross domestic product of more than 2.6 trillion USD while the MSMEs account for more than 60 percent of employment in theregion, Malaysia believed that ASEAN is becoming a magnet for expanding businessesand startups looking to test their novel innovations, particularly due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Southeast Asia is progressing in the digital era with its fast-growing,mobile-first, rapidly expanding tech-savvy middle class, he said, hoping thatthe ICT cooperation with the RoK will further spur this trend.
He also expected that the signing and implementation of the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would send a strong message on theimportance of strengthening regional economic integration and further spureconomic growth between the two sides./.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (AFP/VNA)
