IN a recent virtual meeting between top executives of Thailand and Huawei, Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Thailand’s prime minister, expressed appreciation for Huawei’s continued support of the kingdom’s digital transformation and post-pandemic recovery, and his eagerness to further strengthen cooperation with Huawei to promote the Thailand 4.0 strategy and digital talent cultivation.

During the same meeting, the prime minister and Ren Zhengfei, chief executive of Huawei Technologies, exchanged views on how to consolidate digital competitiveness and build a strong foundation for information and communications technology (ICT) talent in Thailand.

The general also stressed the important role that advanced ICT technologies and digital innovation would play in supporting Thailand’s economic resilience and sustainability.

“Huawei has provided profound contributions to Thailand’s fight against the pandemic and digital transformation,” said Chan-ocha. “I am deeply impressed by Huawei’s history and culture of dedication. In the future, Thailand is eager to cooperate with Huawei in various areas, including digital economy, 5G smart hospital, cloud and computing, digital power, smart logistics and data center.”

For his part, Zhengfei expressed his gratitude for the Thai government’s trust in Huawei and congratulated Thailand on its achievements in 5G rollout.

“Huawei and Thailand have been working together to build a strong digital infrastructure foundation,” said Zhengfei. “In the future, we look forward to accelerating the integration of digital technologies in Thailand’s key industries, especially in port and airport scenarios. We have strong belief in Thailand’s successful digital transformation and talent development. Our local team will work closely with Thai customers and partners to serve the country’s social and economic development with technology solutions.”

Toward Thailand’s digital blueprint to become the Asean digital hub, Huawei and Thailand have been closely cooperating in two key areas.

First, in line with the Thailand 4.0 strategy, Huawei has worked with its customers to accelerate Thailand’s digital transformation and ICT infrastructure innovation. Through the adoption of 5G, Cloud and artificial intelligence, Huawei and its industry partners are enabling Thailand’s key sectors and creating exciting opportunities across multiple areas, including health care, education, transportation, e-government and smart city, to bolster Thailand’s long-term socioeconomic development and digital ecosystem.

Among these actions, smart ports and airports are important potential cooperation areas for Huawei and Thailand. Zhengfei introduced the company’s best practices in Smart Port and Smart Airport Solutions in China, which builds automation capabilities based on all factors — people, vehicles, goods, enterprises and places — to help build safe, efficient, and intelligent world-class ports and airports.

Second, the two top executives also highlighted a commitment to cultivate upskilled and digital talent in Thailand. In order to drive Thailand’s digital transformation and long-term development, both men stressed that the public and private sector must work together to build an open, shared ICT talent ecosystem that benefits all.

Aiming to cultivate Thailand’s local ICT talent and digital workforce, Huawei established the Huawei Asean Academy (Thailand) in 2019, which has trained over 41,000 ICT professionals and provided training to 1,300 small and medium-sized enterprises. Huawei has also signed memorandums of understanding with more than 20 Thai universities. With a digital world fast approaching, Huawei is determined to ensure that no one is left behind through digital inclusion initiatives that enhance the digital knowledge and employment prospects of vulnerable groups.

In March 2021, Huawei Thailand was chosen for the Special Prime Minister Award as the “Digital International Corporation of the Year.” The award recognizes Huawei for its valuable support and outstanding contributions to Thai society and its efforts to support digital transformation. It is the only company to receive this award.