The forum brought together leaders of agriculture ministries from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), multinational and global corporations, and companies operating in agriculture in the ASEAN region in general and Vietnam in particular. 

With 18 sessions, the event focused on agricultural finance, digital innovation in agricultural production, agriculture and the fourth Industrial Revolution, precision technology in agriculture and low-emission agriculture, among others. 

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said agriculture is a key economic sector of most of ASEAN countries, noting that agro-forestry-fishery production not only ensures food security in the region with a combined population of 650 million but also contributes to global food security. 

To integrate more intensively and extensively, the agricultural sector needs to make stronger changes, with the broader participation of the private sector and application of cutting-edge technologies of the fourth Industrial Revolution, towards more modernity, efficiency, inclusion and sustainability, he stressed. 

Dung said agricultural cooperation is one of the most important contents of the ASEAN Economic Community in order to increase market access capacity of farm produce, develop product chains and promote the participation and benefits of farming households. 

The Deputy PM listed an array of measures such as enhancing strategic cooperation in agriculture in ASEAN through bilateral, multilateral and regional collaboration, establishing potential agricultural links in the region, and intensifying direct investment and strategic partnerships between producers, customers and commercial businesses. 

The Grow Asia Forum aims to set up partnerships to support ASEAN countries in fulfilling the WEF’s New Vision for Agriculture’s targets of increasing food production by 20 percent, lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, and reducing rural poverty by 20 percent by 2030.

The targets will be completed by connecting concerned parties like Governments, businesses and farmers, especially via the Public Private Partnership (PPP), he said.

Dung went on to say that Vietnam considers the PPP model an important tool to attract investment in agriculture and develop production, focusing on value chains and in-depth processing. 

Under the action plan on agricultural restructuring by 2020, the Vietnamese Government has put agriculture at the centre of sustainable economic development, adaptation to climate change and prosperous rural area building. 

Science-technology and the PPP investment model would be factors that help Vietnam realize its goals of sustainable agricultural and rural development, he said. 

Apart from Governments and farmers, businesses serve as the most dynamic factor in the value chain since they organise the production, processing and consumption of agricultural products, especially amidst the fourth Industrial Revolution. 

The Deputy PM expressed his belief that the participating managers, experts and businesses will work together to seek innovation methods in agriculture, utilising agricultural advantages in the region, improving people’s living standards and contributing to ensuring global food security in the face of climate change.

Public join open forum discussion on ASEAN 4.0

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum delivers a speech at Open Forum

Hundreds of people, mostly young startup leaders and students joined an open forum on how start-ups can drive new opportunities in the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Hanoi on September 11. 

The forum, themed ASEAN4.0 for All, was developed to give students, entrepreneurs, young professionals and the general public an opportunity to discuss what their future might look like as technological disruption shapes the ASEAN region. 

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum stress the changes the 4IR - with new technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, thrones - will make in various aspects, from economies to society.

 “The 4IR will not just change how we produce, consume and communicate. It will change who we are,” Schwab said. 

He urged young people to be aware of the happening and the impact of 4IR as well as being prepared for it as the revolution will destroy many chances while creating new opportunities. 

“We have to make sure that we have new skills to adapt to those required in new age,” Schwab said. 

In his opening speech, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh suggested ASEAN nations, including Vietnam, develop visions and strategies in the context of 4IR to make ASEAN an innovation hub. 

“It is the fastest and most effective way to identify opportunities and challenges in the context of 4IR, thus helping young ASEAN people to turn challenges into opportunities, ideas into products and gain more successes in startup and innovation,” Anh said. 

 The Government of Vietnam considers enterprises and startups as the central force of the national economy and science and technology as the driving force of a sustainable development economy. 

Vietnam has developed a national startup ecosystem and action plans to tap potential and adapt to challenges in the 4IR.

The country is also developing the national strategy for science, technology and innovation vision 2035 and the scenario of 4IR for Vietnam.

Vietnam is willing to cooperate with WEF and ASEAN nations, local and international resources for science-technology and innovation, Anh said. 

The forum saw a panel discussion with participation of regional government officials, entrepreneurs and chief executive officers of multinational companies. 

The panel touched regional issues and opportunities emerged in the 4IR, such as employment, education, ecommerce and e-marketing, among others. 

The Vietnamese panel participant, Le Hong Minh, Chief Executive Officer of the VNG Technology Corporation, told participants his business story, which made his startup one of the most successful company in Vietnam and among the most creative startups in the world. 

“If you find excitement in anything, which others think is impossible, go for it because it will become reality in 20 years from now,” Minh said, adding he did the same when starting his business in 2004. 

Minh also called on young people to think out of the box to find opportunities for themselves in the 4IR, saying “If you start your business in a conventional way, thousands of others are doing it.” 

Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia, stressed the need for internet access for young people to fully tap potential in the 4IR. 

“The Malaysian Government ensures that internet is affordable and accessible for all people, particularly young people, by halving the cost and doubling speed,” the Malaysia Minister said. 

Julia Andrea R.Abad, Executive Director of Far Eastern University Public Policy Centre of the Philippines, said the future of ASEAN will be in the hands of young people across the ten ASEAN nations, stressing the need to unlock the entrepreneur skills within young ASEAN people. 

The WEF on ASEAN 2018, themed ’ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is taking place in Hanoi from September 11-13.

The event attracts the participation of more than 1,000 delegates, including six presidents or prime ministers.

It provides platform for government and business leaders to discuss and share policy ideas and initiatives for the region’s key issues, especially in the face of the 4th industrial revolution. 

In 2010, Vietnam hosted the World Economic Forum on East Asia for the first time. 

The WEF was established in 1971 as a non-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva. The forum engages political, business, and other leaders to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. 

 Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

WEF ASEAN 2018: Gala night to highlight Vietnamese culture

A gala night featuring Vietnamese culture will take place in Hanoi on the night of September 12 during a banquet for delegates to the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018 (WEF ASEAN).

At present, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Culture is urgently completed the last preparations for the programme, which aims to promote Vietnamese identities to the WEF ASEAN participants.

The event, themed “the beauty of Vietnam”, will also reflect Vietnam’s intensive and extensive international integration as well as its active and proactive preparation for and participation in the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0).

The gala night will include three parts. The first part, “Vietnam – My homeland”, will feature special art forms of the three regions of the country, including UNESCO-recognised Nha nhac (Hue royal court music) and quan ho (love duet) singing.

World-renowned Vietnamese artists will devote opera and jazz performances in the second part, entitled “Integration”, which aims to affirm the talent of Vietnamese people during the international cultural integration.

Meanwhile, the last one will feature songs and dances of countries in the ASEAN Community. Regional artists will perform together to reflect a united, creative and prosperous ASEAN.

The WEF ASEAN 2018, themed “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, is taking place in Hanoi from September 11-13.

The event is not only an important diplomatic activity of Vietnam in 2018 but also a chance for the country to promote its land, people and culture to international friends.

It attracts more than 1,000 delegates, including six presidents and prime ministers, who will focus their discussions on five key topics, namely defining new ASEAN vision on regional integration; seeking new business models and business governance in digital age; seeking new driving forces and business models for ASEAN states in industry 4.0; enterprises and new approaches to global and regional leadership; and smart infrastructure development, capacity training, startups, innovations in industry 4.0.

In 2010, Vietnam hosted the World Economic Forum on East Asia for the first time and over the past eight years, Vietnam has obtained remarkable economic achievements, including the GDP per capita rising from 1,160 USD in 2010 to 2,385 USD in 2017.

The WEF was established in 1971 as a non-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva. The forum engages political, business, and other leaders to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

VNA