The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has announced it will work with China and Belgium on digital identity and infrastructure. As part of the collaboration, the countries will share expertise on diverse digital technology domains, including the above-mentioned ones, in an aim to accelerate the Philippines adoption of digital innovation.

Details on the Philippines – China agreement As reported by the Manila Times, the deal with China was signed during a state visit to the country made by the Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. early in January 2023.

Based on a DICT statement quoted by the publication, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between DICT and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which was among 14 other deals signed on the occasion. As per information detailed in the announcement, the MoU covers the following: the exchange of technical expertise and best practices in emerging technologies of the likes of artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cloud computing, internet of things (IoT), industrial internet, big data, analytics, and robotics. enhanced support for cooperation within the telecommunication industry.

an exchange of best practices about 6G vision requirements and 5G use cases, 5G and 6G technology innovation, and 6G system concepts and architecture. When commenting on the collaboration, DICT officials stated that the signing of the MoU in an affirmation of both countries’ goal in deepening bilateral relations and promoting ‘useful exchanges in the areas of digital and ICT cooperation’. Furthermore, they believe that the digital cooperation between the countries will be strengthened in areas such as technologies, telecommunication, digital governance, and radio spectrum management, among others.

Within the e-governance area, the two nations have an agreement on exchanging knowledge and sharing best practices regarding digital government strategies, services, and identities. Furthermore, they both agreed to exchange best practices about data centre design and explore potential partnerships for the establishment of data centre projects according to international standards for facility design, operations, and data privacy and security. Details on the Philippines – Belgium agreement As reported by the Inquirer, the collaboration with Belgium was agreed upon following discussions between DICT’s undersecretary for public affairs and foreign relations and the Belgian Ambassador to the Philippines.

The institutions’ representatives discussed knowledge and experiences’ sharing in areas of cybersecurity and digital identity. DICT officials advised that their goal is to gain knowledge from digitally advanced countries when it comes to building and improving digital infrastructure, improving the public’s access and the government’s delivery of public services via digitalisation, and strengthening cybersecurity measures. Belgium has an eID (electronic proof of identity) that can be leveraged by citizens for electronic transactions of the likes of signing electronic documents and logging into online public services in a secure manner.

Based on information provided in the collaboration announcement, the Philippines has amongst its priorities the expediting of the issuance of National IDs, looking to make transaction with government agencies easy and efficient. .