KUALA LUMPUR: Asean must accelerate integration to achieve the region’s projection in becoming the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said regional connectivity, linking Asean member states’ research centres, technology clusters, start-up communities and regulatory systems is no longer a technical ambition but an economic imperative.
“For Asean to truly compete at the frontiers of the global economy, we must strengthen the connective fabric that binds our region – the infrastructure of ideas, talent and technology.
“The next decade will belong to regions that can integrate, not just innovate,” he said in his keynote address at the launch of Cyberjaya Conversation Summit 2025.
Ahmad Zahid also called on Asean members to work with universities, industry, investors and civil society to become one of the world’s most dynamic centres of science and technological excellence.
He said the region must look ahead to new frontiers of opportunities that included emerging space economy, a sector that is projected to be more than US$1 trillion (RM4.125 trillion) globally.
“Asean is uniquely positioned to participate meaningfully.
“Our geography offers natural launch advantages; our talent base is expanding and our digital infrastructure is growing at pace.
“This progress reflects a deeper shift. Asean is maturing into a community that invests in talent, science and technology as strategic assets,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said Asean Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation 2026-2035 is crucial to serve as the strategic backbone of how the region will be developing a future-proof economy.
“It represents our collective decision to align policy, research, capital and talent towards a shared innovation agenda.
“The plan also expresses a deeper ambition that innovation in Asean must be inclusive.
“It must uplift the large economies; while the smaller ones must benefit the urban tech clusters and the rural entrepreneurs and must also bring science out of laboratories and translate it into livelihoods, solutions and industries,” he added.
Meanwhile, Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister Chang Lih Kang said Malaysia is among the world’s top 10 exporters of high-tech goods, with over US$127bil (RM523.8bil) in exports last year.
“It is proof that our innovation economy is gaining global ground.
“As Asean moves beyond 2025, we must innovate with purpose and partnership, turning science into solutions; technology into shared prosperity; and collaboration into a common future,” he said.
