The 26th World Congress on Innovation and Technology 2022 (WCIT 2022) concluded with 4,000 delegates attending the event in Penang from over 60 countries.
According to the organisers, Pikom, more than RM46 billion worth of foreign and domestic digital investments were announced through the inking of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between some of the biggest companies in the global technology and digital arena.
Among those signed were Angkasa-X and Ideal Property Group; IHEAL Medical Group and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; Digital Penang and Microsoft; along with Securemetric and AVM Cloud. PIKOM was also successful in signing MoUs with the Centre for Sustainability Intelligence, the Russian National Software Developers Association (RUSSOFT), ASSESPRO Brazil, 88 Captains, Huawei, and the ASEAN China RCEP Chamber.
Commenting on the significant moment, PIKOM Chairman Dr. Seah said, “The success of WCIT 2022 certainly cannot be overlooked as we have minimised the technological divide between Malaysia and some of the most developed countries in the world. We have also secured more than 25,000 new job opportunities through foreign and domestic digital investments. We will continuously seek to improve infrastructure, increase employment, foster technological innovation, and ultimately, advance forward as a nation actively pursuing technological excellence.”
With the closing of this year’s WCIT, Kuching, Sarawak has been identified as the next host in the forthcoming year. Malaysia will be the second country to host WCIT thrice and the first in Asia to do so.
Chief Minister of Penang, Chow Kon Yeow, expressed “WCIT 2022 has positively positioned Penang on the world map as a global technological and innovation hub. Besides being home to some of the world’s leading tech companies, the successful fruition of this event has demonstrated that this ‘Silicon Island’ has even greater potential to thrive as the centre for innovation and technological advancements. I would like to therefore congratulate everyone, especially all participants and stakeholders of WCIT 2022 for making this what I believe to be the best iteration yet in the event’s history.”
