WEF ASEAN: Vietnam needs to seek new competitive edge in Industry 4.0
Geneva (VNA) – Vietnam
and other countries at the same level of development should no longer see cheap
labour as a strategy to maintain competitive edges in the market, said Justin Wood, Head of Regional Agenda - Asia Pacific and member
of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum.
He made the remarks in a recent interview granted to Vietnam
News Agency correspondents in Geneva, Switzerland, on the threshold of the
World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) scheduled to take place in Hanoi from
September 11 to 13.
Seeking new
competitive advantages in the era of modern technology is a major policy issue
for Vietnam and ASEAN at large as cheap labour is no longer a feasible strategy,
he said.
Mentioning the WEF ASEAN 2018, Wood said the WEF
had signed with the Government of Vietnam an agreement on the organization of
WEF ASEAN since January 2017.
Such an important event needs a great deal of time
for preparation, he said, adding that one important work was to decide its theme
“ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship in the fourth industrial revolution”.
This year’s WEF will feature 53 sessions, he
said, adding that more than 900 participants are due to join the forum,
including delegates from the public, governmental, private and civil society
sectors as well as entrepreneurs, experts, and policy makers from over 40
countries.
It is expected to welcome over 90 governmental
representatives, and eight Presidents and Prime Ministers.
With the theme of “ASEAN 4.0,
entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” this year’s WEF will
focus on the significance of the Industry 4.0 to the 10 ASEAN member countries,
seeking answers to the questions of how changes brought by the Industry 4.0
should be understood and what actions ASEAN leaders should take.
Wood stressed that the Industry 4.0
affects all countries in the world, from the richest and most modern to the
poorest and least developed. However, new technologies will bring about
different impacts in different countries, which is the subject of study.
The era of new technologies has posed
major policy questions, and the upcoming WEF-ASEAN will provide an opportunity
to discuss and understand better the steps to be taken next, the WEF official
said.
The WEF was established
in 1971 as a non-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
The forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society
to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA