JOKOWI SEEKS FORMER BRITISH PM TONY BLAIR'S HELP TO SPEED UP INDONESIA'S DIGITALISATION

JAKARTA , April 18 (Bernama-Antara) -- President Joko Widodo has asked former British prime minister Tony Blair to help accelerate the digital transformation of bureaucracy in Indonesia, reported Antara.

Widodo, better known as Jokowi, received the executive chairman of The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change at the Presidential Palace here on Thursday.

State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas; Minister of State Secretary, Pratikno; and Minister of Investment/head of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia, were also present at the meeting.

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"The Investment Minister and I were asked by the president to be there during the meeting with Blair. One of the things related to us is the digital transformation of the Indonesian bureaucracy," Abdullah said. 

He added that Blair earlier visited his ministry for discussion on coordinating the government’s digital transformation.

Abdullah informed that Blair is of the view that digitalisation is the best way to multiply a country's achievements and realise efficient bureaucracy.

Therefore, his ministry and the Tony Blair Institute team have so far made efforts towards accelerating the digital transformation, which have included understanding the path taken by the United Kingdom and Estonia.

Furthermore, the Tony Blair Institute team will also launch INA Digital soon as part of government technology or GovTech to integrate various public service systems.

"Currently, there are 27,000 (public service) applications. Innovation that resulted in applications so far does not make it easier for people to get services, but makes it difficult as people need to download (the apps) one by one," Abdullah said.

Therefore, right now, the ministry is integrating several applications of ministries/agencies, including the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, the Health Ministry, the Home Ministry, and the National Police.

-- BERNAMA-ANTARA