Smart City Expo Debuts in Malaysia as a Major Event for Southeast Asian Cities

The role of artificial intelligence in transforming urban life will be the focus of the 1st edition of Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur, which takes place from 17 to 19 September at the convention centre in the Malaysian capital. The event begins its journey with a large exhibition area and a conference programme, in which a hundred top-level speakers will participate and is expected to attract nearly 10,000 visitors. The international benchmark show on smart cities is thus expanding to Southeast Asia and is already held in eight cities around the world.

Under the slogan "Cities with AI: Shaping our digital future", the 1st edition of Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur is planned as a meeting point for global leaders, urban policy makers, investors, innovators, startups and academics, among other profiles. The event, co-organised by Fira de Barcelona and the Malaysian Digital Ministry, coincides in time with the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the Malaysian country, which gives the congress an added projection in its geographical scope.

In its premiere, Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur is structured around four strategic axes: Cities with Artificial Intelligence; Sustainable and resilient cities; Digital Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, and Empowering Communities through Digital Solutions. Based on these major themes, the congress will focus on how AI can contribute to the modernisation of cities through solutions that can range from optimising traffic to improving emergency response systems, energy management or the creation of digital twin environments as testing grounds.

More than 100 speakers

The informative part will have the participation of a hundred top-level figures. Among the internationally relevant speakers who will participate in this edition are: Alfonso Vegara, founder and honorary president of the Metropoli Foundation; James Ong, researcher who has created the AI International Institute, an organization based in Singapore dedicated to the study of Artificial Intelligence and the promotion of its sustainable application; Mahmbud Yusbi, head of strategic planning and business development at ASEAN; Penny Wong, director at the technology and cybersecurity consultancy Radmis; Sunil Dubey, advisor and coordinator of urban programs and professor at UNSW in Sydney; and David Hanson, engineer and CEO of Hanson Robotics, who will be accompanied by Sophia The Robot, developed by him.

The exhibition area will feature important firms and organisations in the field of urban innovation, including Dell Technologies, Intel, Huawei and Ericsson. Relevant local entities such as MIGHT (Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology), MSCA (Malaysia Smart Cities Alliance), Smart Cities Network and Malaysia PropTech Association will also participate in the event.

Fira, global platform

Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur is part of the programme of events that Fira de Barcelona International is organising outside Spain in 2025. With a dozen confirmed events, the trade fair institution is reinforcing its expansion strategy abroad. Among the scheduled events are editions of Smart City Expo in New York (USA), Santiago de Chile (Chile), Curitiba (Brazil), Puebla (Mexico), Santiago del Estero (Argentina), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Doha (Qatar) and Tomorrow.City Shanghai (China).

In addition to these, IOT Brazil in Sao Paulo, Mexico Hospitality Expo in Guadalajara (Mexico), Alimentaria Chengdu in China and Tomorrow Blue Economy in Niteroi (Brazil) are added.

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