Connectivity key to ASEAN growth
Southeast Asian business and political leaders meeting in Phnom Penh on May 11 said multilateral connectivity, both physical and digital, was needed to ensure that ASEAN’s development and growth was not restricted by national borders. Delegates attending the second day of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN stressed the importance of a unified vision and cooperation in achieving inclusive development and prosperity. They noted that it has been 50 years since ASEAN was formed yet the 10-member regional economic bloc still lacks cohesiveness, with large inequalities between member states such as Singapore and Cambodia. Transportation infrastructure is the most basic form of connectivity, and yet several ASEAN member states including Cambodia continue to suffer from inadequate linkages in terms of roads, railways and ports.
