The opening ceremony of the "Smart Nations Initiative" regional seminar, organized jointly by Argentina and Singapore, took place at the Palacio San Martín.
The seminar, which will take place all week, was coordinated by the Secretariat of State for Modernization and the National University of Singapore. Experts from eleven countries in our region will address issues such as the development of citizen-focused digital services, the design of institutions, policies and governance for sustainable and smart cities, and the use of emerging technologies.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister Gustavo Zlauvinen, joined by the Undersecretary of Digital Government, Daniel Abadie, and the Director of the e-Government Leadership Centre at the University of Singapore, Ashok Kumar Seetharaman, underscored the importance of exchanging knowledge and experience with regard to national digital government programmes with the guest countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
In addition, they highlighted that building smart nations is a strategic element of the public policies of many countries, with a view to improving the quality of life of their citizens by using new technologies. "Bureaucratic burdens are therefore reduced to improve people's lives," stated Undersecretary Abadie.
The first Regional Seminar was held in the city of Singapore in February, 2018, with the participation of representatives from eight member countries of ASEAN.
The second edition is focused on our region and is funded by the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FO.AR) and the Singapore Cooperation Programme. "It is an example of South-South Cooperation because it will create a virtuous circle of new technical exchanges which will strengthen our capacity to use new technologies for the benefit of our societies," highlighted Deputy Foreign Minister Zlauvinen.
