Wednesday 31 July 2024
(left-right) Managing Director, Investment Promotion Authority, Clarence Hoot, Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Timothy Masiu, Leon Buskens, Santos Country Chair and DICT Secretary, Steven Matainaho, during the opening of the two-day Summit at Stanley Hotel on Tuesday 30 July.
The 2024 Business Regulators Summit hosted by the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), in Port Moresby, represents a vital step in PNG’s journey towards embracing digital transformation.
Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Timothy Masiu made these remark when he officially launched the two -day Summit held at Stanely Hotel, Port Moresby on Tuesday 30 July, which is being co-hosted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
He described the summit as representing a vital step in the government’s journey toward embracing digital transformation, particularly in the context of Papua New Guinea’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Minister Masiu emphasised that the theme, “Interoperability; Connect and Co-create,”underscores efforts by his Ministry and DICT’s collective goal to harness synergies among government bodies and statutory regulatory agencies to further the nation’s e-commerce agenda and digital transformation efforts.
“Our aim here today is to leverage these insights to inform our strategies and policies, aligning them with international best practices that have successfully driven digital transformation,” Mr Masiu said.
He stressed that the discussions during the two days summit aim to identify synergies among government entities and regulatory agencies while informing ongoing Government to Citizen (G2C) and Government to Business (G2B) digitalization initiatives.
“Together, we can provide policy recommendations that align with our national goals and drive meaningful change.
“Our collective insights will inform the government’s strategic decisions, ensuring that our policies are responsive to emerging challenges and opportunities.
“The journey toward digital transformation supported through interoperability is both exciting and challenging.
“You, as regulators play a very important role in creating an environment where it will be conducive for business to grow.
“It is my sincere hope that this summit will facilitate in depth discussions and put forward practical solutions to support the interoperability agenda to where we realize the streamline access to citizen and business facing services,” Mr Masiu said.
Mr Masiu said that his Ministry has made significant strides in adopting digital transformation in the last four years.
“The Government has put in place the necessary policy and legal frameworks including the Digital Transformation Policy 2020, the Digital Government Act 2022, and the Digital Government Plan 2023 – 2027.
“This Summit aligns perfectly with our digital transformation agenda where the objective is to harness digitalization for social and economic growth.
“This is where interoperability comes into play. Interoperability will make conducting economic activities easier for business communities.
“The easier the business processes are, it will encourage more citizens to engage and operate MSMEs’ and SMEs’ creating more income generation and employment opportunities.
“This will contribute towards growing PNG economy that will ultimately result in the improvement of the citizens’ livelihoods.
The Summit is co-hosted by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Key sponsors include; PNG Ports Corporation, Immigration and Citizenship Authority, Aust-PNG Economic Partnership Program.
Collaboration with the DICT is necessary given the fact that the Department is driving the Government’s Digital Transformation Agenda.
The Summit ends today (Wednesday 31 July.)