The Department of Information Technology organized a conference about KRG’s Digital Transformation

Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (GOV.KRD) - The Department of Information Technology organized a conference on Thursday about the KRG’s Digital Transformation in Erbil.

KRG’s Digital Transformation conference was held jointly with Huawei Telecommunications Equipment Company. The event mainly focused on the concept of government digital transformation and how the process of digitalization should be planned by highlighting the challenges and barriers that may face the transition process.

Themed "KRG’s Digital Transformation, from Concept to Reality", the conference gathered KRG’s entities, academics, students, partners, from all across the region to discuss the impact of digital transformation on the government and help it achieve sustainable development. As a global ICT solutions provider, Huawei showcased innovative ICT solutions tailored to the needs of the government and the private sector.

During the conference, the Department of Information Technology illustrated the digitalization steps that had been taken and assisted several government sectors to enhance their services through software solutions, while Huawei showcased some of the most significant emerging technologies that can aid the government and other sectors, along with highlighting new ideas and ways to use digital technologies to reimagine systems.

Hiwa Afandi, Head of the Department of Information Technology, delivered a presentation at the beginning of the conference emphasising the importance of digital transformation for the government and outlined the challenges his team is facing. He explained that lack of understanding about the importance of digitalization and funding are the two main obstacles to the project. He also mentioned that before creating a biometric system, the government had no clue about the number of its employees or how many of them were receiving more than two or three monthly payments.

 

In his speech, Afandi stated that Kurdistan's ninth cabinet has taken massive steps towards digital transformation, adding “No KRG cabinet has been as digitally progressive as the ninth cabinet, and that is a simple fact.” The essential infrastructure is done and in the near future the Department of Information Technology will develop applications to serve the citizens.