By Sasha Harrinanan Thursday, September 13 2012

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ELECTRONIC Government services, better known as eGovernment, are the way of the future as the world becomes more and more digital. Hence the decision by the Republic of Korea and this country’s Ministry of Science and Technology to host a free one-day forum on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) next Monday at Crowne Plaza, Port-of-Spain.

The “Korea-Caribbean ICT/eGovernment Forum” will not only be attended by ICT specialists from a range of ministries in both countries, at least five CARICOM member states have confirmed their attendance — Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Dominica, Jamaica and Suriname.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Wonkun Hwang, may have only been in his current post for six months, but he has big plans to strengthen bilateral ties between his country and Trinidad and Tobago.

“Every time I’ve talked with TT Government officials about how to promote bilateral relations, they always raise the issue of ICT co-operation. So I think it’s good that we’re starting off discussions on ICT co-operation.

I hope that in the next two to three years, our countries will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU), promoting technical co-operation. It could include training at Koreas top-level ICT companies for TT technicians and project managers,” Hwang stated.

The Ambassador shared his vision for Korea/TT links with Business Day during a sit-down interview at the Korean Embassy in Fairways, Maraval two days ago - Hwang’s first official interview since taking up his instruments of appointment back in March. This country has already introduced some eGovernment services, namely the TTBizLink (formerly the Single Electronic Window or SEW) and the Customs and Excise Division’s automated system, ASYCUDA World.

Hwang told Business Day Korea could use its systems, voted number one in the world in 2010 and 2011 he said, to help smooth this country’s transition from predominantly physical to predominantly online transactions.

“Korea could provide TT with very high quality eGovernment services such as our Government Integrated Data Centre (GIDC), Korea Online Procurement System (KONEPS), Comprehensive Tax System (HomeTax) and our Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).”

“The ITS provides real-time data on where your bus is at every minute of the day, so as a commuter, you know exactly how long you have to wait or where to go to catch your bus. I’m sure lots of commuters in TT would love to have a local version of ITS at their disposal. We hope Monday’s forum is the first step towards achieving such bilateral arrangements,” Hwang revealed.

Although registration for the forum closed yesterday, the Ambassador said if local business persons and academics were serious about attending, the embassy would do its best to accommodate them at Monday’s event.



For more information on the ICT/eGovernment forum, you can send an email to the Korean Embassy - koremb.tt@gmail.com