KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is set to host the 23rd Asean Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation (AMMSTI-23) in June 2027.
In a statement today, the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry described the opportunity as an important achievement for the country in taking steps to lead regional cooperation to drive a resilient, sustainable and competitive innovation ecosystem throughout Southeast Asia.
The handover of duty was confirmed at the end of AMMSTI-22 in Vientiane, Laos, which was attended by the Malaysian delegation led by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang.
Chang, when speaking at the closing ceremony, said Malaysia accepted the AMMSTI chairmanship in 2027 with a clear vision: to expedite innovation-based solutions that would directly benefit nearly 700 million people in Asean.
"In an era of global economic transition and climate uncertainty, science, technology and innovation are no longer an option, but rather the foundation of our regional resilience, food security and future preparedness,” he said.
According to the statement, as chairman of AMMSTI-23, the ministry will also focus on strengthening talent development, advancing deep tech, and nurturing close cooperation with Asean dialogue partners.
Chang also highlighted several key achievements and structural transformations that were confirmed during AMMSTI-22, in line with Malaysia's national science and technology policies.
The meeting also launched the Asean Science, Technology And Innovation Fund (ASTIF) themed 'Asean Grand Challenge: AI-Enabled Competitive and Resilient Region’, which aimed to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to address regional challenges.
Chang also welcomed the operational launch of the Asean-South Korea High Performance Computing Facility in Indonesia, with a peak of 4.2 petaFLOPS, thereby officially listing the supercomputer hub in the TOP500 group of the world’s most powerful supercomputers and becoming the bloc's first shared regional HPC infrastructure.
"This shared supercomputing asset is a game changer for researchers, innovators and industry in Malaysia. This effort will provide us with the computing power needed for AI development, climate modelling, disaster forecasting and biotechnology.
"I strongly encourage the Malaysian scientific community and technology institutions to leverage this infrastructure when submitting proposals for the newly launched ASTIF 2026 intake,” he said.
According to the statement, Malaysia also celebrated another proud achievement when Chan Jee Onn of Universiti Malaya, together with the Universiti Malaya-Xuzhou Medical University team, emerged champion in the team category through the YuCare Medical Technology project in the 4th China-Asean Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Vientiane. – Bernama
