KOICA's efforts to narrow digital gap in int'l community recognized by OECD

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of KOICA

By Jung Da-min

The Korea International Cooperation Agency's (KOICA) efforts to narrow the digital gap between developed and developing countries by expanding support for digital transformation in the latter have been recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the agency said, Tuesday.

The OECD's annual Development Cooperation Report for 2021, which provides key issues and trends in international cooperation for OECD Development Assistance Committee member countries and the international community, has shed light on KOICA's strategic approach to assist the digital transformation in its partner countries. The report, titled, "Shaping a Just Digital Transformation," was published last month.

The OECD report features an article titled "KOICA's Dual Approach to Digitalization," outlining the agency's approach to helping its partner countries in the digital transformation. The approach is comprised of its digital mainstreaming strategy, which aims to apply digital technologies to its overseas aid projects across all sectors, including health, education, public administration and rural development; and its digital transition program, which aims to improve digital infrastructure for government administration, economy and safety in partner countries.

For example, in 2021 KOICA introduced an online platform to provide training for government officials of its partner countries, through which they could learn information and communication technologies.

Some other projects include digitalizing the health insurance evaluation system in Peru, and improving the traffic management system through digital technology in Asuncion, Paraguay, which more than halved traffic accidents in the region from 373 cases in 2011 to 165 in 2015.

KOICA's dual approach to digitalization has also been introduced in the OECD's peer learning platform called, Development Cooperation Tools Insights Practices (TIPs).

"Through KOICA's digital transformation strategy, we plan to secure competitiveness as a leading international development cooperation organization," KOICA President Sohn Hyuk-sang said in a press release.

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