KATHMANDU: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, has said that Nepal’s participation in the Global ICT Leadership Forum has been highly productive and beneficial.

Addressing the 19th Global ICT Leadership Forum held in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, Minister Kharel stated that the forum provided valuable opportunities for Nepal to advance its vision of becoming a digital and AI-driven nation. “The Digital Leadership Forum has been highly productive and successful in helping Nepal move toward becoming a digital and AI-friendly country,” he said.

According to the Minister, Nepal has already begun implementing policies and establishing institutional structures for digital and AI transformation. “The National AI Center is now operational, and the AI Council has already been formed. In addition, the draft roadmap for Digital Nepal has been prepared,” he added.

Speaking virtually to RSS from Seoul, Minister Kharel said that the Government of Nepal has proposed future cooperation with the Government of Korea, the World Bank, and other partner organizations in the field of digital and AI transformation. He further added that both the Korean Government and the World Bank have expressed their readiness to work in partnership with Nepal in the coming days.

“The partnership in the areas of digital and AI transformation will focus on enhancing economic cooperation and capacity-building, conducting exposure visits, and facilitating knowledge exchange programmes,” Minister Kharel said, adding that discussions were positive and aimed at continuing long-term collaboration to support Nepal’s digital growth.

“Regarding digital and AI topics, the partnership means enhancing various economic partnership capacities, planning to collaborate on ‘exposure visits’, ‘knowledge exchange’ and similar subjects in the coming days, and discussions have taken place about assisting Nepal,” Communications Minister Kharel said.

In the group session discussions, Minister Kharel expressed his views on Nepal’s priorities, collaboration with partner organisations, and partnership matters.

In that context, consultations were also held between the Korean government and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) there regarding mutual cooperation and partnership.

Nepal’s Ambassador to South Korea, Dr Shivamaya Tumbahamphe, among other officials, participated in the forum.

Communications Minister Kharel had gone to Korea on Tuesday to participate in the forum. An ICT Leadership Forum was held in Seoul. It was jointly organized by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the National Information Society Agency (NIA).

Minister Kharel is accompanied by his personal secretary, Uddhav Bhattarai.

Two sessions were held at the forum on digital and AI transformation: strategies and challenges and global cooperation for a sustainable digital future.

Ministers, chief advisors to prime ministers, government representatives from Nepal and other countries, as well as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and other international organisations, are also participating in the forum on ‘Digital and AI Transformation: Achieving the SDGs’ under the theme of attaining SDGs and a sustainable global future.

Minister Kharel will be back home from Korea on November 15.