Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the opening plenary session of the WEF ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi on September 12 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The World EconomicForum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) 2018 officially opened with a plenary session inHanoi on September 12 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc and WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.
The WEF ASEAN 2018, themed “ASEAN 4.0:Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, attracts leaders of ASEANcountries and partner nations, over 1,000 delegates who are WEF members, andrepresentatives of businesses from around the world.
The opening session, which also saw the presenceof General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee NguyenPhu Trong, focused on ASEAN priorities in the age of Industry 4.0.
WEF Executive Chairman Schwab said Industry 4.0will bring fundamental and breakthrough changes in business models, economiesand societies. Global competition will be shaped by competitiveness instead ofcost factors. In this context, the countries succeeding in mastering Industry4.0 will have innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
To have successful directions in Industry 4.0,ASEAN governments need to create favourable conditions for start-ups as well assmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The coordination betweengovernments and businesses is very important to obtain progress in Industry4.0, he noted.
He expressed his belief that ASEAN countries,with appropriate visions, the best policies, young population and highentrepreneurial spirit, will take the lead in this revolution.
Addressing the event, PM Phuc stressed that hightechnology and digital economy are highly potential fields in ASEAN. They areforecast to rise fourfold to surpass 200 billion USD by 2025.
Analysing opportunities that Industry 4.0 bringsto ASEAN member states, he mentioned breakthroughs in productivity in the fivemajor industries: electronics, chemicals and oil and gas, consumer goods, food,and pharmaceutical. It is also necessary to promote more inclusive growthtowards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by applying Industry4.0 to create connectivity and share new values and innovations.
[Photos: World Economic Forum on ASEAN opens in Hanoi]
He believed that Industry 4.0 will also open upchances for connecting SMEs with trans-national and global markets. ASEAN canalso bypass old ways of industrial development by bravely developing artificialintelligence, robots, automation, drones, satellite devices or sensory systemsto improve productivity and optimize resources.
Regarding challenges facing ASEAN, theGovernment leader of Vietnam pointed to the risk of job loss to automation,quoting statistics of the International Labour Organisation that 56 percent ofjobs in five ASEAN countries are at risk.
He noted Industry 4.0 can raise income for thepeople and countries with talent and knowledge, but it can also widen incomegap and increase the risk of social instability.
Facing those opportunities and challenges, PMPhuc asked ASEAN countries to prioritise such fields as digital connectivity,data sharing, harmonising the business environment, promoting the formation andconnection of innovation incubators, seeking and tapping into talents, andforming an ASEAN education network and the lifelong learning systems.
At this forum, Vietnam will propose newinitiatives about a shared mobile network with the same prices across ASEAN andcooperation in intelligence, ensuring cyber security, manpower training, andinformation technology, he added.
Mentioning the launch of a passengertransportation service using Industry 4.0 technology by Go-Jek of Indonesiaand Go-Viet of Vietnam on the occasion of the WEF ASEAN, the PM said theVietnamese Government hopes to see more cooperation like that to tell the worldthat the cooperation and entrepreneurial atmosphere is spreading in ASEAN.
With a combined population of over 640 millionaccounting for 8.5 percent of the global population, ASEAN is now the third biggesteconomy in Asia and the fifth in the world.
Amid the Industry 4.0 expansion and fierceregional and global competition, countries need to bolster cooperation andsolidarity and bring into play the bloc’s internal strength to build apeople-oriented and people-centred ASEAN of peace, stability and resiliencebasing on rules. ASEAN has and will continue making efforts to affirm itscentral role in the region and join partners to maintain peace and stabilityand ensuring freedom on air, on land and at sea, PM Phuc said. –VNA
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