BALI, 12 July 2023 – Representatives of national and local governments across the region gathered today in Bali for the Sixth Annual Meeting of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN). The meeting was hosted by Indonesia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, this year’s ASCN Chair.

In his opening remarks, Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs, Muhammad Tito Karnavian mentioned that the government needs to continue pushing the implementation of Smart Cities by building a strong foundation to face the urbanization challenges, the development that can face various challenges and constraints in line with the dynamics of changes in the global constellation and capacity building that has the ability to adapt in complex and to the onslaught of the industrial revolution, in line with the summit’s theme of Indonesia which is Epicentrum of Growth.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn commended Indonesia’s unwavering commitment to the development of smart and sustainable cities in the region in his pre-recorded remarks. He highlighted three key points to further ASEAN’s efforts in promoting smart and sustainable cities, namely, sharing knowledge and learnings within and between cities and with national governments, strengthening cooperation in evidence-based city planning and management to realise a more liveable urban environment in ASEAN, and promoting more public-private-people partnerships to seize smart city opportunities.

Chairing the meeting, Dr. Safrizal ZA, Director General of Regional Administration of Indonesia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, conveyed that collaboration in ASEAN Smart Cities Network can address the pressing challenges faced by our cities and explore innovative solutions to foster sustainable urban development, furthermore, continuing on working closely with external partners can contribute to the refinement and success of potential future programs.

Participants discussed the implementation of ASCN smart city projects, development of ASEAN smart city investment toolkit, and expansion of ASCN membership. Representatives from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport; and Seoul National University attended the meeting to exchange views on how to enhance existing cooperation and catalyse new partnerships.

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