PM Barzani takes part in Q&A session on KRG digital transformation

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has recently participated in a question and answer session on his cabinet’s digital transformation agenda in Erbil, where he was joined by tech entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Barzani on Sunday gave a visit to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Information Technology (DIT) in Erbil, where he inaugurated the Region’s first-ever Advanced Data Center.

After concluding a tour around DIT's state-of-the-art building, Barzani sat down with young Kurdish tech entrepreneurs and industry leaders to discuss his government’s agenda on digital transformation.

Coming from different backgrounds, the business leaders directed their questions at the prime minister about various aspects of the digitalization efforts, including the issues of cyberattacks and security.

“Our vision is to digitalize every government service,” Barzani said in response to a question, asking how a digitalized public sector would benefit the private sector.

A fully digitalized public service would better facilitate cooperation between different government agencies and the private sector, such as company registration and issuance of the driving license, the prime minister explained.

The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can similarly benefit from the new digitalized services through the publicly-available data, Barzani answered a question in that regard.

“Personal privacy will be protected by the government,” he insisted.

Developing a “modern banking system”, through which citizens can electronically conduct transactions and receive payments, is also part of the KRG’s digital transformation mission, he explained to the audience.

“This facility [Advanced Data Center] is built according to international standards,” Barzani said, adding he had discussed the issue of cyberattack and protecting the system with the DIT team who had ensured him of the all-strong security measures put in place to thwart such incents.

Barzani has recently inaugurated the digital driving license for the first time in the Region, marking another stage in the government’s efforts toward digitalized public services.

The official said that his government is working on a media plan to raise public awareness of the new system.

“The digital systems are crucial because they bring about a comprehensive transformation in governance,” Brusk Awat, the head of digital development at the DIT, said after the session

An insightful Q&A session about our #DigitalTransformation journey and our vision for digital government services across all sectors. pic.twitter.com/aRBudVQSS8

— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) September 7, 2022