The D-8 Organization agreed to harness resources to advance the Members States’ respective e-government services to implement the sustainable development goals. This was the key outcome of the two-day Workshop, jointly organized by the D-8 Organization and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in Istanbul from 17 to 18 November 2022.

The Workshop, titled: ‘Capacity-Building Workshop on Implementing New Approaches for E-government for SDG Implementation’, was attended by participants from the D-8 Member States. In addition, experts from the Turkish Digital Transformation Office, UNESCO, the UN Technology Bank for Developing Countries, and the UN Regional Coordinator in Ankara enriched the Workshop.

In his opening remarks at the Workshop, the Secretary-General of the D-8 Organization, Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, underlined the importance of e-government for effectively implementing policies that would support member states in their efforts towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  He added that the attainment of SDGs is one of the objectives of his organization, just as it is captured in the D-8 Decennial Roadmap 2020-2030 Document.

Speaking further, Ambassador Imam said that collaboration between the D-8 Organization and UN DESA could serve as a model for enhancing cooperation between similar organizations with different resources and potentials, adding that he hoped the ongoing cooperation with the UN Agency would be expanded to other areas, such as e-commerce and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

On his part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Türkiye, Mr. Alvaro Rodrigues, lauded the cooperation between D-8 Organization and the UN system in organizing the Workshop, adding that this cooperation was imperative for meeting the target of SDGs, and in the spirit of South-South cooperation.

Dr. Safa Uslu, Director of International Relations of the Digital Transformation Office of Türkiye, shared with participants his country’s experiences in digital transformation and enhancement of e-government.

In his statement, Mr. Juwang Zhu, Director of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, UN DESA, highlighted that e-government and digital technologies could provide new solutions to the SDGs. He also underlined the plan to create a Global Digital Compact, scheduled to be agreed upon at the Summit of the Future in September 2024.

In his presentation, which focused on the UN E-Government survey launched in November 2022, Mr. Deniz Susar, who is the Governance and Public Administration Officer of UNDESA, said that D-8 member countries fared relatively well in the E-Government Development Index (EGDI), adding that Malaysia and Turkiye were adjudged in the “Very High EGDI” group, while Bangladesh, Iran Egypt and Indonesia were in “High EGDI” and Nigeria and Pakistan were in the ‘Medium EGDI’ group.

Among the several recommendations from the workshop was creating a roadmap and a long-term action plan for the D-8 Member Countries to strengthen their e-government, including a proposal for the establishment of a D-8 e-government network, which would meet regularly to identify challenges and proffer solutions to problems associated with e-government in the member countries.