Pakistan Joins DCO as Founding Member for Digital Cooperation

Pakistan has joined the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) as a founding member which is established under the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reinforce international cooperation and collaboration within the digital domain. The official statement issued on Thursday said that other countries that are invited to affix the DCO as founding members include Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and therefore the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

The organization was launched at a virtual event, hosted by Abdullah Al-Swaha, the minister of communication and knowledge technology of Asian country. Government minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi participated within the event via video link. Lauding the far-sighted initiative of the Saudi minister, Foreign Minister Qureshi said that at a time when the digital economy is estimated to be worth over $11 trillion and is about to expand further within the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the creation of DCO would cater to the growing need of international cooperation and collaboration within the digital domain. 

“[The] DCO will offer a platform to push the worldwide digital agenda within the scientific, health, educational, commercial, social, agricultural, investment and security spheres,” he remarked. Qureshi said that digital diplomacy has been a core component of his public diplomacy Initiative.

“The minister chairs an obsessive digital diplomacy unit comprising a number of Pakistan’s brightest IT experts, to bring innovation and enhance Pakistan’s digital diplomacy footprint,” said the communique. 

For countries like Pakistan, with a talented and well-trained pool of human resources sought globally, the data revolution presents a novel opportunity to leapfrog the event deficit. Pakistan’s membership of the DCO would contribute to the attainment of that objective, it added.