Bangkok--6 Mar--Asian Institute of Technology
Traversing the path of a possible Asian Century, Dr. Bindu Lohani, Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) delineated the journey from agricultural economies to knowledge economies at a seminar on "Development and Innovation Challenges in Asia: Role of Knowledge Institutions" delivered at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 25 February 2015.
Dr. Lohani, who is an alumnus and former faculty member of AIT, highlighted the role of knowledge management stating that Korea represents a unique example in Asia, where a country has moved from being a developing economy to a developed economy. He identified water, sanitation, integrated water resource management, clean energy, sustainable transport, urban development and smart liveable cities as growth areas in Asia.
Stating that there is a possibility of Asia crossing 52 per cent of the global GDP by 2050, the ADB Vice President warned of a countries falling into the middle-income trap. “Countries that are low on innovation have failed to break the middle-income trap,” Dr. Lohani warned. Identifying the Education, Information and Communication Technologies, and Research and Development as the three pillars of a knowledge-based economy, Dr. Lohani stated that 50 per cent of the GDP in the OECD countries is knowledge-related. He mentioned how Singapore, which was a labour-based economy, moved towards a technology-base and is now into a phase of innovation-based economy.
Stating that the world has never seen the kind of urbanization that Asia is witnessing, Dr. Lohani remarked that this stresses the need to develop urban resilience to face climate change. Urbanization and its associated sectors represent a eight trillion dollar opportunity, he added.
AIT President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, welcomed Dr. Lohani and thanked him for addressing the AIT community.
Photo caption: Dr. Bindu Lohani