JAKARTA, 13 August 2020 - The ASEAN Secretariat and Infrastructure Asia[1] held a webinar on Digital Connectivity today as part of the ASEAN Infrastructure Discussion Series.

Over 190 representatives from all ASEAN Member States, Dialogue Partners, as well as financiers, multilateral development banks, private investors, and other infrastructure solution providers, participated in the 90-minute virtual event.

Participants shared knowledge and experience on good-fitting technology as well as people-focused commercial and technical delivery models, towards exploring potential areas of collaboration.

World Bank Director of Digital Development Boutheina Guermazi and the United Nations Development Programme Advisor for Digitalisation and Smart Cities Calum Handforth shared multilateral perspectives and case studies on sustainable infrastructure investments on digital connectivity projects.

Several private sector representatives, such as ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB), Element AI, JD.com, Leonie Hill Capital, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Cooperation (SMBC), provided their respective solutions and experiences, which could help augment digital connectivity in the region.

The webinar also highlighted the heightened interest from international investors and financiers seeking well-structured projects, particularly digital connectivity projects such as smart cities solutions, data centres, and fibre-optic network. This will present opportunities for ASEAN to further mobilise resources to support sustainable infrastructure in a post pandemic ASEAN.

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[1] Infrastructure Asia is Singapores representative in the ASEAN Lead Implementing Body for Sustainable Infrastructure (LIB-SI).