"Sharing Digital New Deal Achievements with Developing Countries" Ministry of Science and ICT Hosts Global ICT Leadership Forum

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[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced that it held the ‘2021 Global ICT Leadership Forum’ on the 5th at the Sofitel Ambassador Hotel in Seoul, together with the National Information Society Agency (NIA).

The event was attended both in-person and virtually by high-level government officials in the ICT sector from seven countries including Ghana, Moldova, Malawi, Mongolia, Serbia, Egypt, and Bhutan, along with MSIT’s 2nd Vice Minister Kyung-sik Cho. The entire event was broadcast live on YouTube.

Now in its 7th year, the Global ICT Leadership Forum was first held in 2015 and has involved 42 senior officials from ICT ministries and related organizations across 29 countries. Through discussions on various ICT cooperation agendas, it has contributed to the formulation and development of information and communication policies in developing countries.

This year’s forum, under the theme ‘Global Cooperation for Post-COVID Digital Transformation,’ featured sharing of digital transformation policies between Korea and participating countries, followed by discussions on future cooperation measures. The keynote speech titled ‘Digital Transformation Strategy for Leapfrogging to a Future Leading Nation’ was delivered by Yoon-kyu Park, Director General of the Information and Communication Policy Bureau at MSIT.

Subsequently, during the two-part policy discussion session, participating countries introduced their digital transformation policies, and a policy debate was held chaired by Min-won Ki, Ambassador for Science and Technology Cooperation. Each country shared their strategies’ implementation systems, key tasks, and domestic and international cooperation status with attendees. Various measures to enhance international cooperation in the ICT sector between Korea and the participating countries were also discussed.

Prior to the policy discussion, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony was held with countries newly establishing and maintaining Information Access Centers. These centers are promoted as part of MSIT’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects, and to date, over 60 centers have been established in 48 countries, significantly contributing to strengthening the informatization capabilities of residents in developing countries.

Vice Minister Kyung-sik Cho of MSIT stated, “COVID-19 has rapidly expanded non-face-to-face culture, accelerating digital transformation triggered by the 4th Industrial Revolution. Based on the achievements of the Digital New Deal we have been promoting since last year, we will actively support the digital transformation of developing countries through various cooperative projects in the future.”

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