Jakarta (ANTARA) - Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate said he has discussed a potential collaboration in the digital sector with his counterpart from Portugal during his visit to the country.
He met with Portuguese Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation Mário Campolargo to discuss several issues, including upstream and downstream infrastructure, cyber security, digital economy, and digital talents.
The relationship between Indonesia and Portugal has well been established, Plate noted in his statement that ANTARA received here Sunday.
The two countries are in the middle of exploring cooperation in the digital sector given that global digital transformation proceeds quickly.
In relation to infrastructure, Portugal currently has many telecommunication networks that connect different regions such as the Portugal-Africa connectivity as a result of the Mediterranean-South America and Central America networks.
Strategically, Indonesia and Portugal can utilize the Portugal networks for Atlantic Post, East Coast of America.
"Moreover, at the same time, we are developing network fiber optic from Indonesia through the Pacific route, West of America," Plate added.
"If we can establish infrastructure connection, specifically data transmission through fiber optic, it will be more efficient. If we can do this well, then it will certainly facilitate global communication," he explained.
Speaking about cyber security, Indonesia and Portugal are in similar position not just in the government and but also in the private sector.
Both countries currently have special regulations to provide security to the people in the digital space.
In the case of Indonesia, the country has Personal Data Protection Law as the legal umbrella with the European Union General Data Protection (EU GDPR) serving as its benchmark, he informed.
In relation to digital talents and digital economy development, they discussed cooperation opportunity to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as micro enterprises (MEs).
Campolargo also conveyed his positive opinion on his meeting with Plate.
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While Portugal and Indonesia have a large difference in terms of population, the two countries share common interests to ensure that all citizens receive the same telecommunication access.
To this end, Portugal seeks to participate in supporting digital transformation, including in Indonesia, he informed.
According to Campolargo, an egalitarian development of digital infrastructure can help all citizens to grow economically and realize prosperity in the future.
Therefore, the telecommunication infrastructure that unites undersea cable across the world is necessary, and the cooperation between the two countries should be developed soon, he noted.
Moreover, Campolargo highlighted the importance of human resources to further develop the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), startups, and entrepreneurship.
Hence, this ICT cooperation can help Indonesia get more connected with many countries, he remarked.
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