A 2-day workshop that aims to formulate strategy between Indonesia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was held recently.
According to a recent press release, the KSA-ID Digital Collaboration Workshop was held between the Ministry of Communication and Information of Indonesia and the delegation from the Digital Transformation Team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It was shared that pioneering talks between the two countries regarding the field of digitalisation began back in July 2018.
The focus of the workshop was to build a digital economy ecosystem through the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of programs that have been successful in both countries.
Memorandum of Understanding
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formulated during the course of the workshop. The scope of the MoU included the following:
- Empowerment of entrepreneurs
- Development of joint centres for digital innovation
- Activation of the role of accelerators, incubators, and venture capital investors in the field of digital technology
- Collaboration in research and development
- Information exchange on Information Technology (IT) policies, techniques and regulations
The Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara shared that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman welcomed this initiative when it was first mentioned to him at the G20 Summit in Argentina, back in 2018.
KSA-ID Digital Collaboration Workshop
The strategic workshop was divided into five sessions to discuss in detail the improvements that will be included in the initiative. The five sessions were:
- Sharpen the investment model of the two countries to execute the initiative chosen
- Sharpening the scope of the Umrah Experience Digital Platform
- Developing digital solutions to empower MSMEs related to Umrah activities
- Develop a 1,000 Digital Innovations Program model in Saudi Arabia with reference to Indonesia’s experience in the 1,000 Start-up Movement
- Introducing the NextIcorn concept to the KSA delegation in order to attract Saudi Arabia venture capital investment
The Delegations
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was represented in the workshop by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the National Digitisation Unit that is responsible for coordinating all digital initiatives in the country.
An institution in charge of developing MSMEs in Saudi Arabia and also one of the largest venture capital in the country, which manages investments of more than US$ 600 billion, was also present.
Indonesia was represented in the workshop by the Digital Economy Team of the Ministry of Communication and Information.
Representatives from the Ministry of Religion that handles Umrah as well as venture capitalists and start-ups were also in attendance.
The workshop was designed to produce models, priority action programs and the setting of agreed deadlines for the next phase of the initiative.
The Chairperson of the KSA Delegation expressed his appreciation for the Indonesia-KSA Digital Collaboration.
He also conveyed the good news that the KSA Government Cabinet agreed to the formulated MoU between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia and are fully committed to realising the MoU of this cooperation.
Moreover, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia collaborated with and wants to learnd from Indonesia in order to achieve the KSA Digital Vision 2030.
Within a short period, Indonesia had succeeded in building a digital economy ecosystem and produced 4 Unicorns, which KSA wishes to adopt.
OpenGov Asia earlier reported on an Indonesian university that developed a weather detection system for Saudi Arabia.
The system, called Hydrometeorological Hazard Early Warning System (H-HEWS) can provide predictions on sandstorms, heat waves, heavy rain and other extreme weather, with an accuracy of 85%.
