Prayut talks 5G, AI with Huawei boss
PUBLISHED : 26 NOV 2021 AT 04:00
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha greets Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei during a virtual meeting to promote collaboration on the nation’s digital transformation and talent development.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha held a virtual meeting with Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei yesterday to deepen cooperation with the Chinese tech giant and promote the use of 5G plus AI eco-innovation, he said in a Facebook post.
Gen Prayut wrote on his account that he had concluded a video conference with Huawei's top management, including the Chinese billionaire, and he was "very pleased to tell people that the discussion was good and opened opportunities for cooperation in many areas to support the work of the government and the private sector in Thailand".
They touched on a range of topics including the application of digital technology in medicine, education, trade, services, tourism, finance, agriculture and other industries, he said.
Executives from Huawei also joined the virtual meeting. From left: President of Huawei Asia Pacific Jeffery Liu, CEO of Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Abel Deng and the newly appointed President of Huawei Asia Pacific, Simon Lin.
The development of cloud platforms for all parties to use big data was also on the agenda as a matter that will require long-term and continuous investment, he said.
Gen Prayut stressed the important role that advanced ICT technologies and digital innovation will play in supporting Thailand's economic resilience and sustainability.
"Huawei has provided profound contributions to Thailand's fight against the pandemic and the country's digital transformation. I am deeply impressed by Huawei's history and dedication," Gen Prayut posted.
"Going forward, Thailand is eager to continue working with Huawei in various areas, including the digital economy, 5G smart hospitals, cloud and computing, digital power, smart logistics, and further data centres."
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the prime minister had thanked Huawei Technologies for donating face masks and providing technological support to help the government battle Covid-19.
He ordered government agencies to discuss possible cooperation projects with the Chinese tech titan, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Mr Ren expressed his gratitude for the government's trust in Huawei and congratulated Thailand on its successful 5G rollout.
"Huawei and Thailand have been working together to build a strong digital infrastructure foundation for many years," the Huawei boss said.
"We look forward to further accelerating the integration of digital technologies in Thailand's key industries, especially in port and airport capabilities."
He said Huawei had applied 5G technology and AI to develop many industries in China, and that Thursday's discussion would lead to technological solutions that would benefit Thailand.
"We strongly believe in Thailand's successful digital transformation and talent development. Our local team will continue working closely with Thai customers and partners to serve the country's social and economic development with technology solutions," Mr Ren said.
Huawei has set up a Huawei Asean Academy in the Eastern Economic Corridor to upskill workers.
Charting nation's digital future
5G, cloud computing and AI are all key elements in Thailand’s digital economy
PUBLISHED : 17 NOV 2021 AT 20:08
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon speaks at the opening of Powering Digital Thailand 2022, an event jointly organised by the Bangkok Post, Huawei Technologies Co, and the Asean Foundation in Bangkok. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)
5G, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) will all be key elements in the infrastructure of the country's digital economy for the betterment of Thai people, the government said on Wednesday.
Wireless communication technologies are already core parts of Thailand’s development, namely social, economic and security development, said Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Gen Prawit was speaking at the opening of Powering Digital Thailand 2022, an event jointly organised by the Bangkok Post, Huawei Technologies Co, and the Asean Foundation in Bangkok.
The forum is being held at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in Bangkok. It concludes on Friday.
The deputy prime minister said these technologies play an important role in Thailand's development, especially as the country’s economy prepares to bounce back from Covid-19.
"These technologies together are considered a key driving force in the development of Thailand’s digital economy through the further development of innovations and creating jobs," Gen Prawit said.
"Powering Digital Thailand 2022 is a good example of public-private cooperation to push for integrating the use of technologies in the country’s development," he said.
Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn told the forum that the DES ministry has set a goal of having digital businesses account for 30% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, up 17% from now.
Mr Chaiwut said the target is part of the government’s policy for post-Covid-19 pandemic economic recovery, including building digital infrastructures particularly cloud services, empowering digital business and creating a quality digital society.
He said the government has implemented a 20-year digital Thailand development roadmap in three phases — starting with creating a digital foundation and inclusion and reaching out to full digital transformation and becoming a leading global digital player.
The ministry has deployed free broadband internet for 74,987 villages over the past few years and boosted the capacity of submarine cables as part of the moves to turn the country into an Asean digital hub, Mr Chaiwut said.
“The internet penetration has now reached 80% of the country’s population while Thailand is the first mover of 5G wireless broadband in Asean,” Mr Chaiwut said.
Thailand has deployed 20,000 5G stations and has 4.3 million 5G users, which is 2.5 times the total number of 5G subscribers in other Asean countries combined.
Thailand’s 5G-empowered economy is expected to be as much as 2.3 trillion baht by 2035, according to a joint forecast by the Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, Time Consulting and Huawei.
The pandemic has caused disruption in people’s normal life, in business and society, but the government has provided assistance to them via applications, Mr Chaiwut said, adding that Thai people are at the forefront in using internet banking and financial services through apps.
According to the minister, three approaches will be used to drive economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic.
The first involves a push to boost the capacity of digital infrastructure to accommodate innovation adoption and digital economy roadmaps, particularly data centres supporting cloud services.
The National Telecom (NT) provides the Government Data Center and Cloud Service (GDCC), which serves cloud usage among state agencies.
The second approach concerns efforts to empower digital business, which currently accounts for 17% of the country’s GDP. The government wants to see it surge to 30% by 2030, Mr Chaiwut said.
“Local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must be supported to adopt digital platforms to catch growth in the digital economy,” he said.
Lastly, the government wants to create a quality digital society by ramping up efforts to thwart cybercrime and online fraud that's growing alongside the digital economy.
The Industry Ministry plans to use the metaverse concept to train a new generation of Thai workers in virtual reality (VR) technology under its Creative Industry Village scheme. Metaverse refers to a non-physical world in which people can virtually interact with one another and the Industry Ministry wants to apply this digital technology economically.
“Digital technology plays a key role in solving many challenges, including global warming and an ageing population,” said Nattapol Rangsitpol, director-general of the Department of Industrial Promotion, during a seminar on “Powering Digital Thailand 2022”.
“The technology appears in almost everything and can be used to improve people’s quality of lives,” he said.
The Industry Ministry plans to use the metaverse concept to enhance learning efficiency as well as improve workers’ skills under its Creative Industry Village scheme, which is also aimed to develop local economies in the country.
“People wear VR headsets, create their own characters and simply travel to places like Ayutthaya,” said Mr Nattapol, referring to one application of the metaverse technology.
The Industry Ministry also plans to modernise the industrial sector through its “six-S’s policy” which includes S-Curve industry development by promoting the use of an automation system to solve a shortage of labourers in factories.
Another “S” in the policy is smart industrial agriculture development, which is aimed to promote the use of technology to plan and manage farming, food processing and marketing.