Mr Seah Chin Siong (left) and His Excellency Minnikhanov Rustam Nurgalievich sign the MOU between IDA International and the Republic of Tatarstan.

Singapore e-government service providers are set to make inroads into Russia with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between IDA International and the Republic of Tatarstan in September.

Representing IDA International at the signing was its Chief Executive Officer Mr Seah Chin Siong, while the Republic of Tatarstan was represented by its Prime Minister, His Excellency Minnikhanov Rustam Nurgalievich.

Tatarstan is a growing economic region in Russia and a frontrunner in adopting advanced technology, with its communications industry being an important component of Russia’s economy. Its capital city, Kazan, was the first Russian city with a population of over one million to completely transfer its telecommunications infrastructure to digital technology. The Republic has also been actively implementing its own e-government infrastructure as part of Russia’s nation-wide Electronic Russia (e-Russia) initiative.

IDA International, which was established in 2009 as a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), is the execution arm for all collaborations on public service infocomm between Singapore and governments around the world

Under the MOU, IDA International and Tatarstan will collaborate on various aspects of infocomm technology (ICT), specifically in the use of ICT in e-government masterplanning, government-to-business, government-to-employee and government-to-citizen solutions, in Tatarstan.

They will also promote exchanges regarding the use of ICT by the government and private sectors, which may further enhance and advance trade, investment, business and technology partnerships and collaboration between the Tatarstan and Singapore ICT industries.

In addition, IDA International and Tatarstan will cooperate on public and private-sector programmes and projects to further accelerate the development and adoption of ICT in the Republic, and work together to develop the ICT capabilities, manpower and industry in Tatarstan.

Other possible areas of cooperation include:

• The development of a strategic e-Government roadmap and Implementation plan for Tatarstan;
• The conceptualisation, implementation and user adoption for key projects in the domains of e-government and e-infrastructure; and
• The creation of an ICT manpower capacity development plan in Tatarstan, which could CXO ICT leadership development and specialist ICT skills training and development in areas such as green data centres and the cloud infrastructure.

“We are confident that Singapore’s experience in public service infocomm specifically in master planning and implementation of government-wide IT infrastructure and solutions will bring much value to Tatarstan through this MOU,” said Mr Seah.

The MOU with Tatarstan marks a significant achievement for the Global Business Development Centre of Excellence (GBD COE) – a partnership between International Enterprise Singapore, IDA and IDA International.

Set up in June this year, GBD COE aims to accelerate market access and expand overseas business opportunities for Singapore infocomm companies. Tapping on IDA and IE Singapore’s global footprint, and IDA International’s expertise in conceptualising, planning and architecting ICT programmes in partnership with Singapore’s infocomm companies, the Centre serves as the central arm for formulating and managing business development processes for target markets.