Expert staff for social, economic, and cultural affairs to the Minister of Communication and Information, R. Wijaya Kusumawardhana, said that by strengthening digital infrastructure in ASEAN, including in Indonesia, the projected regional digital economic growth can be realized more optimally.
"ASEAN is currently expanding its role in many sectors, including in the digital sector, such as data storage, ICT infrastructure, data utilization, and data transfer mechanisms," he said at the "US-ASEAN Business Council: Optimizing Digital Connectivity in ASEAN" forum here on Tuesday.
That effort, he added, is aimed at increasing competitiveness and encouraging a prosperous, resilient, and inclusive ASEAN.
Based on the East Asia Forum report, the Southeast Asian region's digital economy is predicted to grow 6 percent yearly. One of the sectors that is playing an important part in digital economy growth is the e-commerce sector, which contributed revenues of up to U$130 billion in 2022.
Kusumawardhana said that in terms of digital transformation, ASEAN countries have prepared several initiatives, including the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, and the ASEAN Economic Community 2025.
He then reminded American business players of almost half a decade of relations between the US and ASEAN.
During the period, there have been many business agreements between the two, especially on export-import and investment, which have been inked thanks to active dialogue. Support for the development of the new sector, namely digital, is expected to be shown by the US amid the digital transformation era.
The expert staff highlighted that several projects related to the digital infrastructure have been carried out by Indonesia, including the data center and optical fiber projects.
Kusumawardhana expressed the hope that through Tuesday's forum, the latest solutions can be created for dealing with crucial problems, new ways of cooperation can be explored, and the partnership between the US and ASEAN, including in the digital sector, can be reaffirmed.
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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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