Hanoi (VNA) – Hosting the World Economic Forum ASEAN (WEFASEAN) in September will enhance Vietnam’s position and show its responsibilityto the international community during the process of international integration,stated Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

Son, head of the organising board of the event, said that the WEF ASEANis taking place with the world witnessing rapid and complicated developments,along with the fourth industrial revolution that is intensively impacting the globaleconomy.

He said that the theme of the forum “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship in thefourth industrial revolution” proposed by Vietnam, is relevant to the ASEANtheme of “self-reliant and innovative ASEAN”, as it show the solidarity,dynamism and self-reliance of ASEAN countries in taking advantage of andovercoming challenges from Industry 4.0.

Major contents of the event include the building of infrastructuresystems and smart cities, the development of high technology agriculture amidstIndustry 4.0 and creating jobs in the context of abundant workforces in ASEAN.

ASEAN members and the international community will also share their viewson suitable policies for the grouping, said Son.

He said that within the event, Vietnam will hold a forum on innovativevision on September 11, which will be chaired by the Minister of Science andTechnology and the WEF to share experience on innovative startups.

Vietnam has also proposed holding a business summit to discuss howVietnamese firms should respond to Industry 4.0.

Deputy FM Son said that so far, most ASEAN leaders have confirmed theirparticipation.

ASEAN, grouping Brunei,Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Vietnam, is the world’s sixth-largest economy with 630 millionpeople, of whom, 260 million have regular access to the internet. The number isexpected to increase to 480 million by 2020. In Vietnam, about 60 percentof the 93 million population are under 35 years of age. They have access to newtechnology and about 55 percent of the population uses the internet.

According to theInternational Labour Organisation (ILO), about 56 percent of the workforce offive ASEAN countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand andVietnam, are at high risk of being replaced by new technologies in about twodecades. 

Vietnam and the WorldEconomic Forum will co-host WEF ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi from September 11 to13. 
                              
This is one of Vietnam’s biggest foreign events this year, attracting more than1,000 domestic and international delegates. 

The WEF ASEAN 2018 co-hosting is the initiative of Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab.-VNA