The headquarters of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Hong Menea
Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) and South Korea’s Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (BIPA) are joining forces to leverage the “ASEAN-ROK ICT Convergence Village Project” to stimulate ICT- (information and communications technology) related development in the two countries, according to a BIPA press release.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been penned between telecoms minister Chea Vandeth and BIPA president and CEO Jeong Mun-seob, noted the release dated February 17.
“The ASEAN-ROK ICT Convergence Village Project, built on the virtual convergence technology, aims at promoting the ICT exchange and mutual growth between [South] Korea and ASEAN, supported by the [former’s] Ministry of Science and ICT [MSIT] and Busan Metropolitan City since 2020,” it said.
“BIPA has conducted the project with National IT Industry Promotion Agency [NIPA] as well as the Korea-ASEAN XR [extended reality] joint projects by establishing various infrastructure and production supporting programmes based on the Korea and ASEAN ICT convergence technology.
“This MoU helps BIPA and MPTC to cooperate based on their networks and expertise for the development of XR and Metaverse industries in both countries, covering R&D [research and development] and support on Cambodia-Korea joint project, network sharing at ASEAN-Korea, education programmes that foster the XR specialists,” it added.
BIPA’s Jeong spotlighted Cambodia’s young workforce as a key asset in ICT development and as a priority for the new partnership with the telecoms ministry.
“Cambodia is the ‘true heart’ of ASEAN in terms of young population and connectivity. In particular, South Korea is being welcomed to launch education projects equipped with technology and innovation in Cambodia’s education system for which skilful human resources can be provided,” the release quoted him as saying.
Early last year, the government launched the Cambodia Digital Government Policy 2022-2035, designed to spearhead the Kingdom’s transition to a digital government.
The policy aims to establish a government underpinned by digital infrastructure and technologies that modernise governance structures and guide reforms in all sectors, according to the 97-page document seen by The Post on February 4, 2022.
The “smart” government outlined in the policy is based on the premise of improving the quality of life of ordinary Cambodians and increasing public trust through more efficient provision of public services.
At the time, the telecoms minister commented that the policy reflects a long-term vision, and that the government’s medium and long-term priorities as outlined in the document aim to meet the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) criteria for digital governance.
“The implementation of these priority actions will contribute to the improvement of indicators on digital government development, as evaluated by UN DESA every two years,” Vandeth said.
In June 2021, the government unveiled a 15-year policy framework for the Kingdom’s evolving digital socio-economic environment, to pave the way for a digital economy as a new growth engine.
The Cambodia Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework 2021-2035 aims to add momentum to the Kingdom’s ICT sector and, since its inception, has been touted by the government as a new source of opportunities to boost productivity, efficiency, and economic competitiveness.
