Malaysia To Showcase Digital City Initiative During Smart City Expo KL 2025

From Nurul Jannah Kamaruddin

BARCELONA, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia plans to highlight its Digital City Initiative, which will be launched early next year at the Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur 2025, showcasing innovative digital services and proof of concepts implemented.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Anuar Fariz Fadzil said the plan is to kick off the Digital City Initiative in six cities in 2025, creating a huge wave of digital city transformation in Malaysia. He added that with Malaysia assuming the ASEAN chairmanship in 2025, Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur will serve as a pivotal platform for regional collaboration, thus supporting the country's vision to become the leading digital city hub in ASEAN.

"The timing of the event coincides with Malaysia's ASEAN chairmanship, which will draw interest from leaders and city administrators across the region," he said during a panel session at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC 2024) on ‘Smart City Expo and Tomorrow Editions Abroad: A Global Conversation Throughout the Year’ held yesterday.

Malaysia will be the first Southeast Asian country to host the Smart City Expo on Sept 17-19, 2025.

Anuar Fariz said Malaysia is keen to welcome over 2,000 delegates and 10,000 visitors, of which at least 20 per cent are from the international faculty.

This event will also be a catalyst for trade deals through foreign direct investments (FDIs) and domestic direct investments (DDIs) as well as to expand opportunities for local industry players.

"The most important note is that we view this as an invaluable opportunity to promote Malaysia's leadership on a global scale in tech innovation and smart city development.

"Therefore, I encourage each of you to actively support and champion this vision as we work together to drive Malaysia's digital future forward,” he added.

The SCEWC 2024 is expected to attract over 25,000 attendees from 850 cities, with over 1,146 confirmed exhibitors and 600 speakers from Nov 5-7. It aims to move cities towards a better future, such as mobility, housing, connectivity, security and buildings.

-- BERNAMA