New Delhi, Nov 11 (KNN) The 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit will be organized in Philippines in November 2017. The theme of the summit is ‘inclusive, innovation-led growth’, focusing on increasing trade and investment, integrating micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into global value chains and developing an innovation-driven economy.

Last year’s summit focused on MSMEs and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This year, the delegates will be presented with the joint Asian Development Bank–World Economic Forum report titled “What does the 4IR mean for ASEAN Regional Economic Integration”.

The report says that the fourth industrial revolution is to pave a way for ASEAN countries to enable integration of MSMEs into global value chains.

According to the report, the level of preparedness of an ASEAN country is negatively correlated with the level of development and this development gap may widen between the countries. The main challenge of 4IR is loss of low-skilled and jobs service jobs such as business process outsourcing due to advancement in technology and artificial intelligence. So, the efficiency of human capital should be improved and not only skills should be enhanced, but creativity and innovation must be promoted.

The report says that MSMEs face problems related to financial services and these problems will be successfully addressed by the block-chain technology which will enable secure financial transactions and even the smallest MSMEs in the poorest countries is to benefit from this development.

More than 90 per cent of enterprises within ASEAN are MSMEs and their online presence have also helped them to expand the business. The 4IR along with focus on inclusion and innovation led growth will benefit not only the MSMEs but also the ASEAN economy as a whole.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed as a regional intergovernmental organization comprising of ten Southeast Asian nations including Thailand, Indonesia , Vietnam , Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore , Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. (KNN/AG)