Malaysia to host first ASEAN Digital Ministers' Meeting in January

Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Multimedia announced on December 14 that its Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, will chair the first ASEAN Digital Ministers' Meeting (ADGMIN1) via teleconference from January 21-22, 2021.

Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and Multimedia Saifuddin Abdullah

Themed “ASEAN: A Digitally Connected Community”, the meeting seeks to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN countries towards building digital ecosystems as a pillar in the post-COVID-19 development plan.

According to the ministry, the emphasis will be the importance of centralisation and unity in efforts to develop the ASEAN Community in the areas of cybersecurity, personal data protection, 5G, and promoting innovations and e-commerce.

The meeting also aspires to expand cooperation with ASEAN dialogue partners including Japan, China, the European Union, the United States, the Republic of Korea and India in enhancing information and communication technology (ICT) policies, developing human resources, discovering and exploring new technologies, and enhancing the ability to deal with risks in cyberspace.

It is also a forum for the exchange of views and policies related to the use of the spectrum for telecommunication purposes as well as matters related to the telecommunications industry in the Southeast Asian region.

Recognising the importance of trust in electronic transactions as the main basis to encourage the community to adopt digital transformation, the Malaysian ministry said the ASEAN Digital Data Governance Framework initiative has been developed to formulate administrative procedures and data transfer methods between ASEAN countries.

The meeting will also focus on developing 5G networks in ASEAN countries through the Policy Recommendations for 5G Ecosystem Development project, it added./.

VNA