Asean Smart Cities Initiative will benefit region's big and small players

AS HAS always been the case, this week's Asean summit will be a hectic week for the 10-member organisation, with an agenda-filled week focusing on everything from cybersecurity to trade, and more.

One key item on this year's agenda will be discussions on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP between the 10 member-states of Asean and its partners China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea. Meetings will focus on the progress being made on this all-important partnership which could tie economies that together could account for a third of the world's GDP.

Another key agenda topic will be the Asean Smart Cities initiative. The Asean Smart Cities initiatiative was first proposed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in November 2017, when Singapore accepted the one-year chairmanship of the organisation. Simply put, it sought to harness digital technology to solve problems and create opportunities for people across the region.