Jordan, Rwanda to collaborate on public service digitalization

Jordan and Rwanda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering a wide range of areas including digital ID and digital government, on which the two countries intend to cooperate to drive their digital transformation journeys. The MoU was signed recently in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). Rwanda's Minister of Information, Communication Technology and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, signed for her country, while Jordan's Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Engr. Sami Smeirat, did so for his government. According to an X post from Rwanda's ICT Ministry, both officials explored ways of sharing experiences and expertise in several areas beyond digital government. The Jordan News Agency reports that the cooperation also touches on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data protection, telecommunications infrastructure, digital payments, as well as digital interoperability. Both officials shared perspectives on opportunities for the exchange of knowledge, institutional collaboration, as well as reciprocal visits by teams from the two countries to translate the MoU into concrete areas of cooperation. Jordan and Rwanda are pursuing their digital transformation programs and have both moved large volumes of public services online. Jordan, for instance, has the Sanad digital ID app and its integrated digital government platform, which it describes as a unified gateway to digital government services. The platform allows citizens to access more than 550 services from over 50 government and private sector entities. With a digital ID, it is possible for an individual to access government services and documents, personal records, digitally sign documents, and make payments using the platform. In July, the Jordan said it had reached 85 percent digital government thanks to growing adoption of the Sanad. The country also has another government-as-a-platform architecture called Jordan-as-a-Platform. It is a system that provides a unified mechanism for accessing government and data services through open APIs and SDKs. Rwanda too has made great strides in digital government with its Irembo platform. It is a digital government system that makes it possible for citizens to easily access public services online with accounts linked to the national ID. Also, the country is currently laying the groundwork for next year's planned launch of its national digital ID system, known as Single Digital Identity (SDID). Biometric enrollment has been going on in the country for the past several months in preparation for the system. The country’s digital transformation is being implemented under the broader Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project (RDAP), which was launched in 2022 and is expected to wrap up by the end of this year. Funding for the project comes from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Rwanda's progress is also attracting interest from the continent, and it is increasingly being seen as a key partner in South-South digital cooperation. Recently, a delegation from Gabon was in the country to share from its experience in digital identity and digital government. Gabon intends to put in place a national interoperable digital government infrastructure that will streamline access to public services. This cooperation between countries on digital transformation comes as some of them are increasingly positioning themselves as digital public infrastructure knowledge exporters , thanks in large part to their maturing experience in implementing different digital system projects.