ASEAN-Korea Partnership To Focus on Green, Digital Economy

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Republic of Korea need to take advantage of the great potential for partnerships to push green and digital economy for the welfare of the global community, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said.

“The partnership should focus on the future economy, namely digital and sustainable green economy. There’s a huge potential in the green and digital economy sectors,” President Jokowi said during the 22nd ASEAN-South Korea Summit.

According to the President, ASEAN’s digital economy potential is estimated to reach US$200 billion by 2025, while the green economy opportunities in the Southeast Asia region will reach US$1 billion in 2030.

“On the other hand, the Korean Deal project, which includes digital and green economy, is worth US$144 billion until 2025. The digital market potential in Korea is estimated to reach US$236 billion by 2030 and contribute 13 percent to the gross domestic product,” he added.

The Asean-Korea partnership is expected to further strengthen concrete cooperation in a number of fields, namely infrastructure and green industry, clean energy, new renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric cars, economic digitization, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and health services, he said.

“Asean and Korea’s partnership in the digital and green economy can not only accelerate economic recovery but also maintain the sustainability of our planet for future generations,” he added.