The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), consisting of 10 Southeast Asian countries, was established by the Bangkok Declaration in 1967. The original five members were Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia, with Brunei joining in 1984. ASEAN celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.
Under their own policies, the ASEAN countries have achieved steady economic growth while demonstrating their respective strengths in primary industries such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining; secondary industries such as electronics, electrical machinery, and automobiles; and tertiary industries such as logistics, finance, and insurance. In recent years, in addition to continuing to develop infrastructure and attract investment, the country has been accelerating efforts to develop the economy in the new era by incorporating the digitalization of industry and the promotion of startups into its growth strategy and fostering next-generation industries.
The global spread of the new coronavirus infection has reminded everyone of the importance and potential of digital technology. Against this backdrop, there is much room for collaboration and cooperation between Japan and ASEAN countries, which have the goal of socio-economic development and problem solving through the social implementation of digital technology.
In ASEAN countries, various equipment industry facilities have been constructed and have been in operation for many years, but there are issues such as aging facilities, and the number of cases of industrial accidents caused by aging facilities is expected to increase in the future. If digital technology can be used to identify the causes of aging equipment and take preventive measures, the problem will not grow any larger. Smart industry safety is becoming increasingly important in promoting such digitalization.
About THAILAND.
Thailand is facing a declining birthrate and the development of digital industries, and the working population is expected to decrease in the near future. Believing that there is a limit to growth that relies on labor-intensive industries, Thailand is rushing to develop human resources capable of handling high value-added industries on a national scale. The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) has launched a preferential investment policy for the development of high-skilled human resources in its "Thailand Plus" attraction project announced in 2019. The aim is to encourage the establishment of specialized training and educational institutions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to develop high-skilled human resources.