World Economic Forum, Ukraine agree to work towards country's digital transformation

Davos [Switzerland], January 18 : The World Economic Forum (WEF) and Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation have signed a letter of intent to launch a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ukraine, WEF said in a release.

The centre will deepen the collaboration between the Forum and Ukraine on emerging technologies, with a focus on the digital transformation of government and digital literacy.

The new centre will be part of the World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network.

The WEF and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine have announced their mutual interest in establishing a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Ukraine, with a focus on government technologies.

The letter of intent to establish the "GovTech" centre in Kyiv was signed by Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum and Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology, and Minister of Digital Transformation, Ukraine.

"We commend the inspirational work of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine as they implement a strong digitalization agenda under the most challenging circumstances. This does not only prove the resilience of Ukraine's government and citizens but also the digital infrastructure of the country," said Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, Switzerland.

"The creation of a new Centre in Ukraine would undoubtedly help Ukraine develop new partnerships and strengthen its GovTech agenda."

In recent years, Ukraine has evolved into a global GovTech powerhouse, becoming the first country with a digital ID system that can be used across the nation and the fourth in Europe to launch a digital driving licence. In line with Ukraine's goal to make 100% of public services available online, almost 20 million Ukrainians are already using the Diia application, which allows them to access key documents and government services, according to the WEF release.

"In 2019, Ukraine re-invented the concept of the digital state, by choosing the mobile first approach and launching the state superapp, Diia. This shaped the digital transformation culture within Ukraine, and has had an impact worldwide," said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology, and Minister of Digital Transformation, Ukraine.

"We have seen significant interest in the app from across the world and are honoured to work closely with the Estonian Government on the launch of their state app. I believe opening a C4IR on GovTech in Kyiv, jointly with the World Economic Forum, is a logical next step, and our team is excited to embark on this partnership," he added.

The intent to establish a GovTech centre in Ukraine comes a day after the Forum and GovTech Campus Deutschland announced the establishment of the Global Government Technology Centre in Berlin. Upon the signing of a formal collaboration agreement, Ukraine will become only the second country to host a GovTech centre within the Forum's C4IR Network.

The ambition for such a centre in Kyiv would be to provide a platform to develop government technologies by uniting scientists, businesses, technology companies, the public sector and the global communities of the Forum. Its thematic focus will be the digital transformation of government, the development of e-government and widespread digital literacy, WEF's release said.

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