JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) in collaboration with Huawei Indonesia has convened the FPCI-Huawei Digital Conference under the theme "Advancing Southeast Asia's Digital Economy: Trends, Potentials, and Roadblocks." The conference was attended by Founder and Chairman of FPCI Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Vice President of Huawei Asia Pacific Jay Chen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, and Deputy Secretary General for ASEAN Economic Community H.E. Satvinder Singh. The conference recorded more than 1,100 registrants from Southeast Asian countries and also those from the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Australia, India, Serbia, the United States, Liberia, and Pakistan.
In his opening remark, Founder and Chairman of FPCI Dr. Dino Patti Djalal highlighted the significant growth rate in digital economy in post-pandemic scenario, pointing out the region's online spending to US$174 billion this year, compared to $100 billion in 2020, on its fast track to reach $363 billion by 2025 on the back of rapidly growing internet penetration and digital deals across the region.
"We can see from these numbers that has been really remarkable growth of digital economy in Southeast Asia. This FPCI and Huawei discussion aims to have an inclusive discussions between Southeast Asian and Chinese policy makers and experts on the state of digital economy and where they go in the future," Dino asserted.
In support of the ASEAN digital economy growth, Vice President of Huawei Asia Pacific Jay Chen emphasized Huawei's long-term commitment to the region's critical communication services, digital services combining connectivity and cloud to accelerate economic recovery. "By combining the power of new ICT like digital connectivity, cloud and artificial intelligence, we can integrate the green economy and digital transformation for the sustainable development in ASEAN. With the ASEAN Economic community vision 2025 as the course, we can come together to help synchronize the strategies of ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 and chart a path towards an ideal ASEAN economic community, and a resilient digital society for individuals, communities and businesses," said Jay.
Speaking of the ASEAN Digital Masterplan, Secretary General for ASEAN Economic Community H.E. Satvinder Singh said that "The ASEAN economic community is basically the vision to develop integrated and highly cohesive economic region for all of us and countries where the hope is there, everything ranging from goods, services, investment, even capital and even skill labor can move seamlessly throughout our region."
Satvinder Singh commended Huawei and ASEAN collaboration, especially through the ASEAN Seeds for the Future program. "We hope the focus can be further expanded with the rest of ASEAN member states."
Voicing similar recognition to Huawei's contribution, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah said, "Our telecommunications sector in Malaysia has very good engagements and partnerships with Huawei. We are looking at growing local icons to be upscaled to regional and international platforms. This is where we can learn from partners like Huawei towards building inclusive digital connectivity and economy."
Meanwhile, Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore Low Yen Ling said, "It is my pleasure to be speaking at the FPCI-Huawei digital conference. ASEAN member states continue to grapple with the global pandemic and fundamental shifts in the international order. However, therein also lies tremendous opportunities. One key area is in the unparalleled digital acceleration we are witnessing today. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing internet markets in the world."
