BALI, 25 August 2023– The Second ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting and ASEAN Telecommunications Regulators’ Council (ADGSOM – ATRC) Leaders’ Retreat of 2023 took place on 23-25 August in Bali, Indonesia.
The three-day event, chaired by Indonesia as ATRC Chair for 2023, called for unity, innovation, and collaboration among the ASEAN Member States in order to achieve the goals set out in the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025.
Specifically, the meeting finalised the project proposals slated for implementation in the 2024 Work Cycle and the cooperation projects or activities with dialogue partners namely China and Japan for the 2023-2024 work cycle. The meeting also discussed the preparations for the 4th ADGSOM, 4th ADGMIN and related meetings to be held in Singapore on 30 January-2 February 2024.
The meeting recognised that the digital sector is not solely about technology; it encompasses people, progress, and possibilities. ASEAN as the epicentrum of growth in this new era is guided by a shared vision, underpinned by core values, and empowered by the boundless potential of the digital sector. The meeting collectively envisaged a digitally empowered ASEAN that not only harnesses technology, but also shapes its own trajectory, upholds ethical considerations, and safeguards against potential challenges.
With the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 reaching its halfway mark, the meeting reiterated the importance of a mid-term review study to assess current achievements and examine preliminary findings and recommendations, and to determine whether there is a need to refine the desired outcomes and the enabling actions to achieve the goals set out in the masterplan.
Concurrently, the 14th ASEAN Network Security Action Council, the 13th Sub-Working Group on Spectrum Management, and the 6th ASEAN Data Protection and Privacy Forum were also held on 21-22 August in Bali, Indonesia. These events focused on discussions regarding cybersecurity, spectrum management, and data protection, respectively.
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