Four Cambodian snowboarders competed in this year's Asian Winter Games, marking the tropical country's first time participating in the international sporting event.
The 9th Asian Winter Games officially opened on Friday in Harbin City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and runs until Feb 14.
This year's Games have drawn more than 1,200 athletes from 34 countries and regions across Asia, making it the largest edition in terms of participation, according to organizers.
The team includes four snowboarders who made their debut at the Yabuli ski resort in Harbin.
Cambodian competitors, who made their debut at the Yabuli Ski Resort in Harbin, said that they value the chance to learn from athletes from around the continent.
"We'll just go there to share connections with other people from outside countries. I just feel happy that I have the opportunity to come here. I don't have much experience on snowboard, but I would love to try more and more if I have the opportunity to train," said Chantsovanratanak Doung, a Cambodian snowboarder.
He added that he is "really happy" to be in Harbin, despite being unaccustomed to the city's harsh cold temperatures.
Doung's teammate Mengchoing Phin said he is glad to have the opportunity to experience China during the event.
"I am so excited to be here. The winter sports are amazing. Snow, and China, Chinese people are so amazing. I love the culture. I love the food here. Everything is amazing," he said.
Cambodian snowboarders compete in Winter Asian Games for first time
The newly-established World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) marks a major milestone in AI development and a significant step toward global AI governance, international delegates said on Friday.
Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing WAICO, an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai.
The organization aims to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, thereby promoting its healthy and orderly development to benefit all humanity.
"I think this organization reinforces the need for multilateral cooperation. So you have 29 countries that have come together. I think yesterday's developments underline the importance of the capacity-building that countries around the world are facing an AI divide. There are some countries that do not have the talent, the datasets, the computer infrastructure, the access to the right models, and therefore efforts such as these can help bridge the AI divide," said UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill.
Alaa Abdulaal, chief of Digital Economy Intelligence at the Digital Cooperation Organization, also hailed the launch, saying that cooperation is vital to ensure that no country is structurally excluded from the evolving digital landscape.
"Any initiative that is targeted for opening dialogues and innovation and conversation between countries to make sure that everyone is participating in the digital economy is a huge milestone. Whenever we have cooperation, whenever we have different countries, different representation, making sure that no one is left outside AI, it is a huge achievement, definitely," said Abdulaal.
World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization marks milestone in AI development: int'l delegates
