PPS shares e-procurement knowhow with Iraqi Kurdistan government

A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq try Korea's e-procurement system at the Public Procurement Service (PPS) in Daejeon, Wednesday. Courtesy of PPS

The Public Procurement Service (PPS) shared Korea’s e-procurement system and the latest development of the nation’s government purchasing knowhow with a group of Iraqi Kurdistan government officials who visited the PPS in Daejeon, Wednesday.

The PPS said it successfully established an e-procurement program called Kurdistan E-Procurement System (KEPS) — based on the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS) — for the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq from 2019 December to 2021 December. KEPS was established with a total budget of 4.3 billion won ($3.2 million) through an official development assistance (ODA) program by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The Iraqi Kurdistan delegation, composed of representatives from various ministries such as planning, interior and construction, visited the PPS and its government procurement call center, gaining insights into the operation.

The delegation especially expressed a keen interest in Korea’s next-generation e-procurement system scheduled to be launched in the first half of next year, and requested the PPS to continue sharing its know-how.

“We hope that KEPS built upon KONEPS will enhance the transparency and efficiency of public procurement administration and act as a model that catalyzes the spread of e-procurement throughout the Middle East,” said Dara Aziz Khidhir who headed the Iraq-Kurdistan delegation.

“For the successful operation of KONEPS-based e-procurement systems in foreign countries, the capabilities of local procurement officials who use the system are as crucial as the quality of the system itself,” the PPS Administrator Kim Yoon-sang said.

“PPS will actively support the e-procurement capacity building projects in many parts of the world including Africa, the Middle East and Latin America wishing to learn from Korea’s experience of e-procurement so that KONEPS will be introduced to as many countries as possible,” he added.

Public Procurement Service (PPS) Vice Administrator Lee Sang-yun, right, shakes hands with Dara Aziz Khidhir, head of the Iraq Kurdistan delegation, after signing an MOU over cooperation in e-procurement system at the PPS in Daejeon, Wednesday. Courtesy of PPS