The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit kicked off in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Wednesday.
The ASEAN Secretariat said in a brief statement that the summit began with an opening ceremony, which will be followed by a plenary session and a retreat. The statement said:
“ASEAN leaders will interact with representatives of AIPA (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly), ASEAN-BAC (ASEAN Business Advisory Council) and ASEAN youth.”
The opening speech at the summit’s evening session on digitalisation was delivered on behalf of the Lao chairmanship of ASEAN 2024 by Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, while the discussion following the speech was moderated by Klaus Schwab, president of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Lao minister said digitalisation processes should take place in the ten ASEAN countries simultaneously, under a common strategy and in an interconnected manner. The Lao FM said in his speech:
“Without this, the region’s digitalisation potential will not be realised. We must invest in the technological infrastructure of the digital economy in such a way that every citizen and every business in every country benefits and benefits from the coming age of intelligence. Interoperability is the key to avoiding fragmentation. If our digital systems are not compatible, seamlessly interconnected, and cannot interoperate, we risk ending up with a divided region in which some countries leap far ahead while others fall behind and fall far behind.”
He called for ASEAN-wide harmony in the digital economy together. Kommasith also added:
“A regional framework agreement on the digital economy could be a step in the right direction here.”
ASEAN leaders discuss regional issues
The member leaders, who arrived in Vientiane on Tuesday, are expected to discuss regional issues including the recent devastating floods that have hit several ASEAN countries, the crisis in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and violence in the Middle East.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders from partner countries are also expected to arrive in Laos for the summit with leaders of the regional bloc.
The ASEAN region is home to more than 700 million people, covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometres) and had a total GDP of $3.62 trillion in 2022.
