The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Korea held the e-Government Cooperation Forum with Kazakhstan, an e-Government leader in the Middle East, on April 25 (Korean time) in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. During the forum, public officials and experts from the two countries held a heated discussion on various issues on e-Government including government data center and future strategies for digital government.
At Kazakh President Nazarbayev’s state visit to Seoul in November last year, the Ministry of the Interior of Korea and the Ministry of Information and Communications of Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on e-Government.
Under the MOU, Kazakhstan invited Korea to the Astana Expo 2017 in June and suggested to carry out specific cooperation activities such as attending the government data center workshop and dispatching experts on e-Government. The visit of the Korean delegation this time was arranged upon request of Kazakhstan.
Through a continuous cooperation on e-Government with Uzbekistan in Central Asia, the Ministry of the Interior has exported its e-Government strategies, amounting to 133.54 million US dollars. Following Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan is set to become a hub in the region to spread Korean e-Government model.
The Korea-Kazakhstan Cooperation Forum on e-Government was joined by around 100 government officials including H.E. Dauren Abayev, Minister of Information and Communications of Kazakhstan.
During the session, the Korean delegation gave presentations to share Korea’s best practices on e-Government including future visions of e-Government, achievements and future plan of government innovation, the status of National Computing and Information Service and national cyber security system, AI-based next generation security system, national archives management, Smart City, e-Resident Card and a digital divide.
The Kazak delegation introduced its e-Government development plan, called “Digital Kazakhstan,” and policies to nurture venture business for the implementation of e-Government. Kazakhstan showed great interest in future strategies of Korea, which built a world-class e-Government in a short period of time.
Following the morning session which mainly focused on thematic presentations, participants had in-depth discussion in the afternoon. In particular, the Kazak side requested to hold a bilateral meeting on national archives management and cyber security, so working-level consultations continued on even after the forum ended.
Korea has exported 8.71 million dollars worth of e-Government products and services to Kazakhstan, which accounts for 9 percent of the total exports to CIS countries. Strengthened bilateral cooperation will likely to have a positive effect on e-Government exports.
Vice Minister Kim Seong-lyul stated, “The cooperation forum with Kazakhstan, which has a huge potential to advance its e-Government, will serve as a momentum to spread Korea’s e-Government across the Central Asia.” “I hope both Korea and Kazakhstan closely work together to achieve win-win growth in the new era of Industry 4.0,” he added.
Source: http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/69010/uzbekistan-and-kazakhstan-set-become-hub-spread-korean-e-government-model