Sixth Next Summit calls for rebuilding collaboration in global change

Photo shows the NEXT Summit (Bali 2022) kicks off in Indonesia's resort island of Bali on September 29, 2022.

Themed on "Global Change and Rebuilding Collaboration", the NEXT Summit (Bali 2022) kicked off on Thursday in Indonesia's resort island of Bali, attracting more than 70 participants, including officials, scholars and entrepreneurs, from over ten countries.

Co-hosted by NEXT Federation, China Economic Information Service of Xinhua News Agency as well as National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) of Indonesia and held mainly online, this session focuses on topics such as innovation in medical and healthcare industry, agricultural technology and sustainable development, digital economy and industrial digital transformation, etc.

At a time of great global change, the summit aims at calling for close cooperation among the nations to promote economic recovery, noted Tjokorda Bagus Pemayun, director of the Tourism Bureau of Bali, Indonesia.

International community is actively looking for solutions to address the global challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic, said Tony Browne, chairman of the Council of NEXT Federation and former New Zealand Ambassador to China, adding that in the post-pandemic era, international community needs to work together in a bid to achieve further progress of innovation, governance and academic research.

Jing Ruyue, secretary-general of Xinhua News Agency, pointed out in his speech that with the theme of this year, the summit aims to bring together forces from all sides to face opportunities and challenges and pursue peace, development and cooperation against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic as well as profound adjustment in the global industrial and supply chains.

According to Hammam Riza, rotating president of Global Advisory Committee of NEXT Federation and principal engineer of the BRIN, this year's theme is a very important topic, which will help promote the development of global industrial chain, deepen the understanding of each nation, and jointly boost global innovation cooperation and sustainable development.

The summit is conducive to the further recovery of the local economy in Bali where guests from all over the world gathered together to exchange thoughts and create new ideas for the economic growth, said Made Gunaja, head of Agency for the Research and Innovation Bali Province, Indonesia.

Laksana Tri Handoko, head of National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia, shared in his speech that different countries need such an opportunity to discuss and seek common progress, especially in sustainable development and innovation, to deal with COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical crisis and food crisis.

The NEXT Summit has been held successfully in Auckland, Hangzhou, Dubai and Singapore for five consecutive sessions.