Phnom Penh (FN), Dec. 2 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen shared five recommendations to strengthen and promote stronger ASEAN cooperation in building and connecting ASEAN cities towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient ASEAN community.

The premier spoke at ASEAN Mayors Forum and the Meeting of Governors/Mayors of ASEAN Capitals 2022, held on Friday at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel & Residence.

“To provide inputs for strengthening and promoting stronger ASEAN cooperation in building and connecting ASEAN cities towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient ASEAN community, may I share some personal recommendations as follows:

First. Ensuring peace, security, stability and prosperity is the main and most important foundation for building smart, resilient and sustainable cities;

Second. The most important goal of building a city or a country is to improve the living quality of the people in terms of well-being, prosperity and resilience. In the context of high uncertainties, ASEAN city and capital administrations need to focus on building smart cities, by taking into account the changing lifestyle in a new normal, the adaption to demographic changes or any possible change that may occur in the presence and future;

Third. Building smart, resilient and sustainable cities requires participation of all stakeholders, including local governments, the private sector, development partners, national and international institutions, and especially the local people. In this regard, ASEAN city and capital administrations, which are directly close to the people, must promote local awareness and capacity to embrace digital technology, as well as focusing on the circular economy and green economy. At the same time, ASEAN city and capital administrations must also create conducive environment for businesses, trade and investment and solve existing problems affecting the daily lives of the people;

Fourth. Within the regional framework, all ASEAN city and capital administrations must work together to accelerate and expand the potentials of ASEAN smart cities connectivity and integration, by jointly promoting digitalization and digital transformation, which have high potentials in developing and connecting all sectors in countries and the region; and

Fifth. The gap in building smart cities in the region is likely to occur due to the growing trend in the digital technology gap. In this regard, the ASEAN city and capital administrations need to further promote a culture of exchanging knowledge and sharing experiences in building smart cities, in particular, building physical and digital infrastructure as well as ensuring security, stability and urban beauty through the effective management of clean water, electricity and waste. At the same time, I would like to recommend aligning efforts in designing and promoting the implementation of practical joint action plans such as SCAPS to ensure a true inclusiveness in the region. Taking this opportunity, I would also like to ask ASEAN local governments to support the "ASEAN Green Deal" which Cambodia has proposed as the ASEAN Chair in 2022, aiming to contribute to the building of greener ASEAN smart cities with more efficient uses of resources.”
=FRESH NEWS