Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Information andCommunications Nguyen Manh Hung is heading a delegation of leading ICT firms ofVietnam to attend the 18th ASEAN TelecommunicationsMinisters Meeting (TELMIN), which kickedoff in the Indonesian island of Bali on December 5.

The event witnesses the participation of ministers of other ASEAN member nationsand its dialogue countries–China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), India,the US – alongside Secretary General of the International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU) Houlin Zhao.

The meeting aims to discuss cooperation plans to complete the implementation of theMaster Plan ICT 2020 (AIM2020), towards turning ASEAN into a safe andsustainable digital economy, while promoting creation and integration in the ASEANCommunity.

In his speech, General Secretary of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi said the ASEANSecretariat has made an assessment of ASEAN’s readiness for the impact on thefuture of ASEAN economy, adding that ASEAN leaders approved a statement on cyberspacesecurity cooperation, recognising the increasing urgency and sophistication ofcross-border cyber security threats.

He affirmed that the digital economyis one of the new growth drivers that could improve ASEAN’s GDP by another 1trillion USD by 2025, however it currently only accounts for 7 percent of theregional GDP.

The Vietnamese minister’s proposal of one-price international roaming in the ASEANregion is very interesting, he said, noting that this is a good project for thefuture of the region.

Themed “Aiming the Future of Digital Ecosystem for ASEANProsperity”, the two-day meeting is discussing and confirming thedetermination to accelerate the implementation of the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2020 (AIM 2020), aiming at promoting ASEAN’s digital economytowards a creative, safe, and sustainable digital integration community.

It focuses on approving an ASEAN digital data managementframework with four priority initiatives, namely data classificationregulations, formation of across-border data transfer mechanism, digitalinnovation and policy, and privacy protection regulations.

Ministers also affirmed the importance of promoting cooperation in developing regionalcyber security policies, sharing information on the risk of unsafe information,and coordination mechanisms among computer emergency response teams (CERTs) of ASEAN as well aswith dialogue partners.

ASEAN ministers had working sessions with representativesfrom China, Japan, the RoK,and the ITU, and adopted cooperation programmes for2019 which will focus on the exchange of ICT development policy, human resourcesdevelopment, promotion and adoption of new technologies,and capacity buildingfor cyber security risks.

Minister Hung held bilateral meetings with his counterpartsfrom Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore to shareinformation and debate cooperation plans in the time to come.

At the working session with representatives from Indonesia, Military-run telecom groupViettel of Vietnam and PTTelekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin)of Indonesia signed an agreement to promote their cooperation on existingservices and to accelerate the provision of services to Indonesians living incountries that Viettel is operating and vice versa.This is the premise of thenegotiation roadmap of reducing international mobile roaming charges between Vietnamand Indonesia as committed by Viettel from now to 2020. –VNA