Physical and digital connectivity needed for Asean growth

Multilateral connectivity, both physical and digital, was needed to ensure that Asean’s development and growth was not restricted by national borders, Southeast Asian business and political leaders said yesterday at World Economic Forum (WEF) on Asean in Phnom Penh. 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. Addressing a WEF panel session, Sun Chanthol, Cambodia’s minister of public works and transport, said building physical connections with immediate neighbors has been a top government priority for increasing economic growth. He added that large parts of the Kingdom’s economy, including tourism and exports, relied heavily on access to the rest of the region. Chanthol noted that the success of infrastructure projects in Cambodia weighed heavily on the quality of infrastructure that they connected to in neighboring countries. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)