ASEAN-Australia Smart Cities initiative announced

In light of the unprecedented pace of scale and change sweeping the region, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a new initiative to foster collaboration between Australia and ASEAN on smart city development.

As part of the ASEAN-Australia Smart Cities initiative, $30 million will be invested to help ASEAN develop cities across Southeast Asia in smart and sustainable ways.

The investment will support training and technical assistance for smart city projects, the development of an ASEAN Smart Cities Network and the establishment of a regional urbanisation forum backed by Australian expertise in areas including green infrastructure, renewable energy and data analytics.

Speaking at the ASEAN-Australia Summit Meeting yesterday, Turnbull said ASEAN is “a vital partner in our efforts to enhance our security and prosperity”, and that Australia and ASEAN are committed to deepening the integration between their economies and expanding trade.

“I’m convinced that opportunities for Australia in our region are vast if we continue to engage proactively with the economies of the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Turnbull added that governments and policymakers should be more willing to learn lessons from other governments, because in a topic like smart cities, all governments are essentially grappling with the same problems.

ASEAN members include Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Brunei.

Image courtesy PM&C.

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