The event witnesses the participation of ministers of other ASEAN member nations and its dialogue countries–China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), India, the US – alongside Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Houlin Zhao.
The meeting aims to discuss cooperation plans to complete the implementation of the Master Plan ICT 2020 (AIM2020), towards turning ASEAN into a safe and sustainable digital economy, while promoting creation and integration in the ASEAN Community.
In his speech, General Secretary of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi said the ASEAN Secretariat has made an assessment of ASEAN’s readiness for the impact on the future of ASEAN economy, adding that ASEAN leaders approved a statement on cyberspace security cooperation, recognising the increasing urgency and sophistication of cross-border cyber security threats.
He affirmed that the digital economy is one of the new growth drivers that could improve ASEAN’s GDP by another US$1 trillion by 2025, however it currently only accounts for 7% of the regional GDP.
The Vietnamese minister’s proposal of one-price international roaming in the ASEAN region is very interesting, he said, noting that this is a good project for the future of the region.
Themed “Aiming the Future of Digital Ecosystem for ASEAN Prosperity”, the two-day meeting is discussing and confirming the determination to accelerate the implementation of the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2020 (AIM 2020), aiming at promoting ASEAN’s digital economy towards a creative, safe, and sustainable digital integration community.
It focuses on approving an ASEAN digital data management framework with four priority initiatives, namely data classification regulations, formation of cross-border data transfer mechanism, digital innovation and policy, and privacy protection regulations.
Ministers also affirmed the importance of promoting cooperation in developing regional cyber security policies, sharing information on the risk of unsafe information, and coordination mechanisms among computer emergency response teams (CERTs) of ASEAN as well as with dialogue partners.
ASEAN ministers had working sessions with representatives from China, Japan, the RoK, and the ITU, and adopted cooperation programmes for 2019 which will focus on the exchange of ICT development policy, human resources development, promotion and adoption of new technologies, and capacity building for cyber security risks.
Minister Hung held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore to share information and debate cooperation plans in the time to come.
At the working session with representatives from Indonesia, military-run telecom group Viettel of Vietnam and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin) of Indonesia signed an agreement to promote their cooperation on existing services and to accelerate the provision of services to Indonesians living in countries that Viettel is operating and vice versa. This is the premise of the negotiation roadmap of reducing international mobile roaming charges between Vietnam and Indonesia as committed by Viettel from now to 2020.
