Malaysia govt agency signs drones-focussed pact with WEF

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on Thursday announced a collaboration with the World Economic Forum with a focus on drones.

The objective is to co-design and pilot policy principles and regulatory frameworks that maximise the societal benefits or mitigate risks from drones, the Malaysian government agency said.

MDEC said it will work specifically with the WEF's Aerospace and Drones portfolio to realise the objectives of this collaboration.

MDEC's 30th Implementation Council Meeting, chaired by Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in October 2019 had endorsed MDEC's proposal to launch its Global Testbed Initiative (GTI) with DroneTech as a pilot.

According to a Drone Service Market report, the global drone services market is expected to reach USD 63.6 billion by 2025, with the Asia Pacific region projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the period.

Locally, Malaysia's home-grown ecosystem players have been growing at an equally rapid pace.

The DroneTech Global Testbed project is aimed at bringing together key industry partners, government agencies, regulators, academia and investors to demonstrate how technology can drive adoption across various industries given a conducive environment for it to operate in.

MDEC said it intends to collaborate with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to leverage on its frameworks and case studies, particularly relating the policy development that supports the DroneTech Global Testbed pilot implementation on drone delivery.

"The focus of MDEC's engagement with the WEF will be working with Malaysian authorities to develop a policy framework that allows for drone delivery and a potential launch of the first drone delivery service in Southeast Asia. The goal is to create a regulation that can serve as a model for the region and beyond. This partnership firmly establishes Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN," said Surina Shukri, CEO of MDEC.