Bangkok Hosts EmpowerTech Summit 2026 as Regional Leaders Examine Southeast Asia's Digital Development Priorities

Distinguished regional leaders, policymakers, and digital development experts gathered at the APNIC Foundation EmpowerTech Summit 2026 in Bangkok to advance collaborative dialogue on Southeast Asia's digital future.

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1. Amarit CharoenphanPresident, New Zealand-Thai Chamber of Commerce (NZTCC)
2. Dr Masanori KondoSecretary General, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT)
3. Professor Jun MuraiFounder, WIDE Project, and Distinguished Professor, Keio University
4. Dato' Mohamed Sharil TarmiziBoard Chairman, APNIC Foundation; Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM)
5. Air Vice Marshal Amorn ChomchoeySecretary General, National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), Thailand
6. Rajnesh SinghChief Executive Officer, APNIC Foundation
7. Dr Preesan RakwatinExecutive Vice President, Digital Transformation Promotion Unit, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), Thailand
8. Tae Hyung KimChief, ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
9. Phichet Rerkpreecha

Executive Advisor, LINE Plus Corp, LINE Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand The APNIC Foundation convened the EmpowerTech Summit 2026 on 18 May 2026 at the InterContinental Bangkok, bringing together senior policymakers, regulators, cybersecurity authorities, intergovernmental organisations, industry leaders, technical experts, development partners, and community-based organisations to examine the priorities and issues shaping the next chapter of Southeast Asia's digital development.

The Summit brought into the same room groups that often approach digital development from different starting points: policymakers, regulators, cybersecurity authorities, technical experts, industry, development partners, and community organisations. The dialogue helped bridge policy priorities with technical and operational realities, creating a shared space to examine what Southeast Asia must strengthen, secure, scale, and coordinate for more resilient and inclusive digital growth.

Hosted by the APNIC Foundation, EmpowerTech is designed to bridge the distance between policy ambition and implementation on the ground and reflects the organisation's continuing mission to strengthen digital development and Internet infrastructure across the Asia Pacific region.

Leadership Unity Speakers and APNIC Foundation representatives at the EmpowerTech Summit 2026, in Bangkok.

Summit in SessionThe EmpowerTech Summit 2026, convened by the APNIC Foundation, brought together government agencies, international organisations, private sector leaders, and technical experts at InterContinental Bangkok to discuss the future of digital development in Southeast Asia.

Panel Session: The Bridge: Harmonising technical imperatives with policy frameworks

Speakers discussed how Southeast Asia can better connect technical priorities with policy frameworks to support digital development and regional cooperation.

Rajnesh Singh, CEO, APNIC Foundation, leads audience engagement during The Evidence session

Rajnesh Singh, CEO of the APNIC Foundation, led The Evidence session at the EmpowerTech Summit 2026, an interactive discussion focused on what is happening across Southeast Asia's digital development landscape.

The session grounded the Summit in field realities from across the region, moving beyond headline progress on mobile penetration and fibre rollout to examine who remains offline, who still lacks meaningful access, and what technical capability gaps continue to limit inclusive digital progress.

Participants contributed perspectives on connectivity gaps, workforce constraints, community-defined challenges and locally engineered responses emerging across Southeast Asia.

"Southeast Asia has reached a critical turning point in digital development. The region's digital future will depend on how well governments, industry, technical communities and civil society connect policy intent with operational realities on the ground. The EmpowerTech Summit 2026 is designed to create that dialogue, bringing regional cooperation closer to practical action that supports inclusive and resilient digital growth across Southeast Asia," said Singh.

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YBhg. Dato' Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, Board Chairman, APNIC Foundation, and Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), spoke on the importance of regional cooperation in advancing Southeast Asia's digital readiness.

"Southeast Asia is entering a more demanding phase of digital transformation. The region has made significant progress in digital adoption, but the next stage will depend on how well we strengthen trust, resilience, interoperability and meaningful participation across our digital ecosystems.

As ASEAN moves toward deeper digital integration, economies in the region will need to work more closely on connectivity, cybersecurity readiness, digital workforce capability and the policy conditions that enable innovation to scale.

The value of the EmpowerTech Summit is that it brings these priorities into a focused dialogue with governments, industry, technical experts, and development partners, examining what must be strengthened collectively. The goal is to support a digital future for Southeast Asia that is connected, secure, inclusive and resilient."

Air Vice Marshal Amorn Chomchoey, Secretary General, National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), Thailand, spoke about the importance of cybersecurity preparedness for making Southeast Asia's digital future resilient, at the EmpowerTech Summit 2026 in Bangkok.

The Summit featured keynote addresses, policy dialogues and cross-sector exchanges on Southeast Asia's digital development priorities.

NIC FoundationEmail: [email protected]

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