Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a multilateral body that aims to bring prosperity for all through digital economy, is working to liaison between its member countries to collaborate and work together for more inclusive digital transformation and the growth of digital industries.
“We look at member countries independently and things that they may need, or if there’s something they are good at and then connect them with other member countries to link the dots to ultimately transform the lives of over 600 million people from 13 member states”, said Deemah AlYahya, Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary-General on the sidelines of the first-ever in-person general assembly of DCO.
The organization represents 13 nations including Pakistan and serves around 600 million people with a collective GDP of more than USD 2 trillion.
Deemah, while speaking exclusively with ProPakistani in the Saudi Arabian capital, stressed that collaboration and connectivity among governments and private bodies from member states could play a vital role in today’s age and time.
“Instead of re-inventing the wheel, we at DCO, believe the governments and enterprises could work together to undertake digital transformation much more quickly and cost-effectively by replicating one solution in other member states”, she emphasized.
NADRA, for example, could implement its solutions in Gambia, a member state of DCO, which is currently looking to digitize its population.
Deemah confirmed ProPakistani that NADRA is currently in the process of becoming an observer with the organization and will soon be able to tap over a dozen other markets through a platform that acts as a bridge between governments, the private sector, and academia.
DCO, which held its second and first in-person general assembly session in Riyadh, is first of its kind initiative where member countries, the private sector, international organizations, NGOs, and civil society come together to help and benefit from each other.
In response to a question from ProPakistani, the Secretary-General of DCO said that Pakistan is an active member.
Pakistan today championed the Digital FDI initiative to attract investments for the startups and companies from across the member states.
“We are part of countless events – that we support – to inter-connect startups and enterprises from all member states with potential opportunities, worth billions of dollars”, said Deemah while emphasizing that Pakistan has been a key player and the organization is actively working with the government of Pakistan to reap the benefit from the talent and enterprises based out of Pakistan.
DCO-backed LEAP exhibition, for instance, is happening this week in Riyadh where a good number of Pakistani startups and IT companies are participating to showcase their products and services to regional markets.
Startup Passport
Secretary-General said that DCO is currently working on collecting all the policies and regulations that each and every member country has in place for the startups to operate in respective geographies.
DCO could pursue harmonizing the legal and other requirements for startups to get access to other member countries, thus paving their way to access newer, bigger, and in some cases better-than-home markets.
DCO’s member countries include:
- Bahrain
- Cyprus
- Djibouti
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Rwanda
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In the session, the member states agreed to foster and facilitate digital cooperation and expedite digital transformation across all sectors, to unlock the full growth potential of the global digital economy.
DCO said that it resolved – in the session – to achieve “30 by 30”, an ambitious future where the digital economy could contribute 30% of the global GDP and create 30 million jobs by 2030.
DCO said that its roadmap for 2030 demands the collective effort of all stakeholders in the digital economy to attain digital prosperity.
