Forum to promote ASEAN as dynamic, innovative bloc

• WEF ASEAN 2018: Chances for Quang Ninh to draw capital from Northeast Asia
• Vietnam-WEF cooperation in agriculture becomes fruitful: official
• Over 1,000 international delegates to participate in WEF ASEAN 2018

The WEF ASEAN, which will last through September 13, takes the theme “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

It is a major forum attracting leaders of many regional countries, international organisations and the world’s leading businesses, and serves as a platform for government leaders and entrepreneurs in ASEAN and the region to discuss and share their visions, ideas and policy directions for important issues of the region.

As the host and co-chair of the WEF ASEAN, Vietnam has included many issues that it and other ASEAN nations are interested in in the event’s agenda such as innovative start-ups, infrastructure and smart cities, employment in Industry 4.0, human resources development, and hi-tech agriculture.

With nearly 60 discussions, the forum is also considered a festival of the grouping’s member states when it reserves a space for promoting images of ASEAN countries, conveying the message about a common house of the ASEAN Community with diverse cultures, diverse peoples, strong solidarity, a shared vision and a shared identity.

This is the third time the WEF has chosen Vietnam as the venue for a regional WEF, showing the strong development of the partnership between Vietnam and WEF, as well as between the country and the international business community. Vietnam used to host the WEF on East Asia in 2010 and the WEF on the Mekong Region in 2016.

This time’s event is also a chance for the country to foster cooperation with partners and attract attention and investment from the world’s leading enterprises. It will help the country access novel ideas and grasp development trends in the region and the world, especially amidst Industry 4.0, to serve the building and implementation of socio-economic development plans and business strategies of local businesses.

The hosting of the WEF ASEAN also reflects the Vietnamese Party and State’s policy of actively integrating into the world and responsibly contributing to common development and integration issues in the region. It is also set to help intensify the cooperation between Vietnam and the WEF in the time to come.

The WEF, established in 1971, is a non-profit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967. It groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.