Moldova will undergo gradual digitization in the coming period with the support of its development partners. High-level discussions on the digital transformation of the Republic of Moldova have started and brought together high-ranking officials, e-governance experts, representatives of government institutions and international partners such as the EBRD, USAID, the European Union, UNDP Moldova, etc.

The first meeting in such format took place on 6 July this year at the Government of the Republic of Moldova and aimed at launching discussions on a new vision of digital transformation to ensure advancement in this field, given that the Digital Moldova 2020 Strategy has been finalized.

The interim Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi, together with Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova, launched and co-chaired the Dialogue of Digital Transformation Development Partners in the Republic of Moldova.

The participants appreciated this platform of cooperation between the Government and donors in the area of inclusive and sustainable digital transformation as an important step towards synchronizing agendas and efforts, identifying areas of intervention and capacity building in the coming months to prepare a new strategy for the digital transformation of the whole society.

During the meeting, Gheorghe Ursoi, Deputy Director of the e-Governance Agency, thanked the development partners for their support in the digitization and modernization of public services. He also talked about the intensification of digitization initiatives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed some difficulties for their proper management and implementation. In this context, EGA, as the implementing institution that constantly works with public authorities and service providers, refers to the acute shortage of qualified public administration specialists who could be fully involved in the implementation of projects for digitization and modernization of public services, and this affects the results of these initiatives.

The enhanced digitization of the overall society will create new business models and opportunities for digital progress in various fields, and the Government will identify opportunities for digital policy development and coordinate activities to promote digital innovation at the national level. The dialogue participants agreed on a roadmap to be developed, laying the grounds for the development of the Digital Agenda of the Republic of Moldova for the next 7-10 years.

In addition, Gheorghe Ursoi suggested that policy implementing institutions should participate in developing the new vision of the country’s long-term digital transformation, or their experience in policy implementation will contribute significantly to setting clear objectives and subsequently achieving them.