Kuala lumpur: The United States (US) has emphasised cybersecurity as a key area of cooperation with ASEAN, highlighting the strong shared commitment among member countries to tackle cyber threats and safeguard the region's rapidly-expanding digital economy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said tackling cybercrime syndicates that prey on citizens across borders was a key area of discussion during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM), which concluded Friday in Kuala Lumpur.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Rubio expressed hope that joint action on transnational scams and cyber threats would produce concrete outcomes, adding that Washington looks forward to a very positive and productive leaders' meeting scheduled for October. "One of the things we are very interested in is tackling these scams that are going on. Scams that prey not just on Americans but also on people in many of the countries represented at ASEAN," he told reporters.

Rubio highlighted the common interests shared by the US and ASEAN, noting that cybersecurity is a crucial area where all parties are deeply committed. He underscored the importance of a secure digital economy, which is projected to be critical to global growth, with most of that growth occurring in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia. Rubio stated that Southeast Asia is projected to account for two-thirds of global economic growth over the next 25 to 30 years, with digital platforms driving much of this growth.

He stressed the necessity of ensuring the security of these digital platforms from both cybercriminals and nation-state actors seeking to undermine them. "Those platforms have to be secure. They have to be secure from cybercriminals and from nation-state actors who may seek to undermine them. So that was a recurring theme in all of our engagements and everyone is very enthusiastic to work together on these things," he said.