Australian Embassy
Thailand

Press Release 2018 - ASEAN summit

       Australia and Thailand’s Partnership in Building Region’s Cyber Capacity

9 February 2018

Australia and Thailand will co-host a series of workshops aimed at building ASEAN’s capacity to mitigate cybersecurity threats and take advantage of the digital transition to Industry 4.0 from 12 – 13 February in Bangkok. The activities, held in partnership with Thailand, will be an exceptional opportunity to strengthen Australia’s bilateral and regional cooperation with ASEAN.

These activities also leverage the momentum of this year’s historic ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, to be held in Sydney on 16-18 March 2018.  The Summit will bring together ASEAN leaders for the first time in Australia. The Summit will provide an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen ASEAN-Australia relations and deepen our strategic and economic partnerships with South East Asia.

The Australian Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Dr Tobias Feakin, who will be an expert speaker at the cybersecurity and digital economy workshops, said the activities are an important opportunity to bring together representatives from government and private sectors to harness the opportunities arising from digitalisation, prepare for cybersecurity challenges, and build a safe and secure cyberspace.

Through digital transformation and the advancement of information and communications and technology (ICT) infrastructure, the region is growing at an accelerated pace. With such transformation, complexity of cyberspace has grown exponentially. Recognising this, Australia is working closely with Thailand and other ASEAN countries to build our region’s capacity to manage cyber risks.

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok, in partnership with Thammasat University, will host a seminar on Australia, Thailand and the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit: Paths to Innovation, Security and Prosperity on 12 February. The seminar will consist of two panel discussions where distinguished speakers will provide insights on digital transformation, Industry 4.0 and challenges of partnering for security and prosperity, all of which are key themes of the upcoming ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March.

Australia and Thailand will also co-host two workshops on cybersecurity and digital economy on 13 February entitled: ASEAN-Australia Cybersecurity Workshop for ASEAN officials and an ASEAN-Australia Workshop on the Future of Digital Transformation for micro, small and medium sized enterprises. The workshops are supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s Cyber Cooperation Program. The Program is designed to boost the resources behind Australia's cyber capacity building efforts in the Indo-Pacific. Projects funded by the Program encompass the full spectrum of cyber affairs, as articulated in Australia's International Cyber Engagement Strategy. This may include raising the bar of cyber security, cybercrime capacity building, or pursuing economic and development goals.

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