Digital Government Prospects: Russia’s Experience Could Benefit Southeast Asia

The prospects for cooperation in this area were discussed at the round table “Russia – Southeast Asia: E-Governance Knowledge Sharing,” held as part of the 2nd Global Digital Forum on October 8 in Moscow.

This area requires a comprehensive approach, and both Russia and Southeast Asian countries have extensive experience in the field. Each country has its own specific needs. Russian technologies for developing digital services, identification and electronic document management can be adapted to the national characteristics of other countries. In turn, Southeast Asia’s experience in regional digital cooperation and adapting services to different conditions is of interest to Russia.

There is already a track record of this kind of international knowledge exchange. Since 2022, HSE University (Moscow), together with Innopraktika, has been running a program to transfer digital government expertise to African countries. Southeast Asia could become the next region for such cooperation.

As Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University (Moscow), noted, it is important to adapt the program to each country because there are significant differences not only across Southeast Asia but even within individual countries. She cited Indonesia as an example: the country consists of around 6,000 inhabited islands, which also affects the digital transformation of government.

Indonesia is focusing on sovereign artificial intelligence. As Daniel Oscar Baskoro, Senior Technology Adviser to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, emphasized, the country is developing a full technology stack, from semiconductors to large language models. Indonesia has a population of 280 million, and AI is already helping government officials process citizens’ requests more efficiently. The government app is currently used by 100 million people.

A pilot project in Indonesia is already being implemented by Russian telecommunications equipment manufacturer T8. Aleksandr Seniukov, Deputy CEO for Government Relations at T8, noted that Russian technologies allow partners not only to retain control, but also to develop their own capabilities.

Myanmar is currently implementing a national digital development strategy through 2030. It calls for the development of e-government, regional hubs and smart cities. According to Min Zeyar Hlaing, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications of Myanmar, there are five promising areas for cooperation with Russia: digital infrastructure, information security, personal data protection, government services and training qualified professionals. The two countries’ digital development ministries will soon discuss the establishment of a Myanmar–Russia Digital Information Security Center.

At the same time, all round-table participants agreed that the most important element of the transformation process is not technology, but people.

“No government wants a digital solution whose on-off switch is located overseas. ... You can buy solutions, you can buy infrastructure. You cannot buy a new generation of managers,” Anastasia Likhacheva emphasized.

“People first, then technology, then processes. These three things are the most important, and we need to cooperate in this area,” Min Zeyar Hlaing said.

According to the discussion participants, the fact that Russia and Southeast Asian countries are ready to share their experience in the digital transformation of government is significant. It is time to move from one-off presentations and pilot projects to systematic cooperation.