Ministry Of Communication And Information Technology Supports ASEAN Digital Community Development

Illustration of ASEAN digital community. (weforum.org)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) in order to support the development of digital communities in the Southeast Asia region, has implemented four aspects of accelerating inclusive digital transformation.

"In supporting the realization of the ASEAN digital community, the Government of Indonesia emphasizes on 4 aspects of accelerating digital transformation, ranging from strategic planning, connectivity, data utilization, to foreign cooperation," said Special Staff of the Minister of Communication and Information for Digital and Human Resources Dedy Permadi quoted from a press release, as quoted by Antara on Saturday, June 4, 2022.

Regarding the strategic planning aspect, Dedy said Kominfo has prepared a Digital Indonesia Roadmap 2021-2024. The roadmap is a strategic guide for realizing a fast, strong, and equitable national digital transformation.

For the connectivity aspect, Dedy said the government continues to encourage the provision of adequate and equitable connectivity. This is done in order to close the digital divide and increase the ratio of internet connectivity between regions.

Furthermore, regarding the aspect of data utilization, Dedy said that increasing the value and use of data in daily life must always pay attention to the principles of data sovereignty.

While the fourth aspect or foreign cooperation, according to Dedy, the Indonesian government is very proactive in supporting various cooperation frameworks that encourage the institutionalization of digital transformation in the Southeast Asia region.

He said this included what was done by Indonesia as the host of this year's G20 Presidency and Indonesia's involvement in the preparation of the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on Digital Transformation.

According to him, Indonesia's support in the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on Digital Transformation and the implementation of the Indonesian G20 Presidency are real evidence of Indonesia's contribution to ASEAN.

As the supervisor of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) in the implementation of this year's G20 Summit, Kominfo raised three priority issues, namely Digital Connectivity and Post-COVID-19 Recovery, Digital Literacy and Digital Skills, as well as Cross-Country Data Flow and Free Flow.

"Indonesia hopes that the focus of the discussion at the DEWG G20 can continue in the digital transformation discussion forum at the ASEAN level, so that it has a positive impact on the ASEAN digital community for all circles. Young people are no exception," said Dedy.