ASEAN Mayors Meet in Cambodia to Boost Smart City Collaboration
The mayors of the capital cities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) got together to talk about how they could work together better for smart, resilient, and sustainable cities in the region.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Mayors Forum and the Meeting of Governors/Mayors of ASEAN Capitals 2022 that cities are the hearts of countries and regions, and they are places for all kinds of activities, particularly in the socioeconomic, cultural, and political fields.
"In this sense, socio-economic development and the building of a strong, sustainable, and inclusive community must begin with the building and connecting of smart, resilient, and sustainable cities," he said.
Since it started in 2018, the ASEAN Smart Cities Network has been making important contributions to the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the New Urban Agenda, he said.
Hun Sen said that, since ASEAN and the rest of the world are facing many problems, using digital technology to build smart, green cities is the best way to go for now and in the future.
He said, "Smart cities have a lot of potential to solve common problems in urban planning in new ways, make people more resilient to different risks, and especially improve the well-being and prosperity of local people's lives in a new normal."
"Furthermore, smart cities will become major poles for promoting stronger socio-economic, business, trade, and investment activities, as well as providing job and business opportunities to the general population in countries and the entire ASEAN region," he added.
The leader of Cambodia said that peace, security, stability, and prosperity are the most important parts of building cities that are smart, resilient, and sustainable.
He said that all ASEAN city and capital governments should work together to speed up and expand the possibilities of ASEAN smart city connectivity and integration by promoting digitalisation and digital transformation.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen has requested that ASEAN local governments embrace the ASEAN Green Deal presented by Cambodia, which intends to contribute to the development of greener ASEAN smart cities with more effective resource utilisation.
Source: Xinhua
