The Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP) and the Australian Embassy in Thailand, will organize an “ASEAN – Australia Workshop: Future of Digital Transformation among ASEAN MSMEs” on 13 February 2018 from 09.00 to 17.00 hrs at Dusit Thani Bangkok.

          The workshop, proposed by H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, at the First ASEAN – Australia Biennial Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on 7 September 2016 that Thailand will host the workshop on technology and innovation cooperation between SMEs from ASEAN and Australia, was welcomed by the Summit. In line with Thailand 4.0 policy, the Workshop aims to share best practices of MSMEs which have successfully digitalized their businesses and of public sector in promoting digitalization as envisioned in the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan on SME Development Plan (SAPSMED) 2016–2025 that ASEAN MSMEs should achieve the goal of becoming “Globally Competitive and Innovative” in 2025.

          At the Workshop, around 70 participants from ASEAN Member States and Australia, both public and private sectors, and MSMEs, will exchange their views and experiences on 1) Challenges of MSMEs Digitalization in ASEAN and Beyond, 2) Accelerating Digitalization in MSMEs, 3) Government’s Role in MSMEs Digitalization, and 4) Practical Recommendations which will be submitted to the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit through the ASEAN-Australia Business Summit, to be held in Sydney, Australia during 17 – 18 March 2018. H.E. Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand is scheduled to attend the Special Summit.