Cyprus is first EU member to join Digital Cooperation Organisation

Saying it aspired to facilitate communication, collaboration, and knowledge transfer, Cyprus on Wednesday became the first EU member state to join the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO).

Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the DCO aims to harnesses digital technology and innovation to deliver sustainability and prosperity.

The agreement was signed at an official event at the presidential palace by DCO secretary-general Deemah Al-Yahya and Cyprus’ deputy minister for research, innovation and digital policy Kyriakos Kokkinos.

The DCO was founded by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Nigeria and Pakistan, with Morocco and Rwanda joining later. They account for a market of more than half a billion people with a total GDP of more than $2 trillion.

Members undertook among other things, to expand cooperation in electronic governance, support small and medium enterprises and promote innovative entrepreneurship, develop digital infrastructure, and promote ethical and human-centered digital transformation policies.

Welcoming Cyprus as the 11^th member state, of the DCO, Deemah Al-Yahya said it was an important milestone in DCO’s expansion into a global organisation with member states that reflect a range of experiences and strategic approaches.

“Cyprus is also a good example of the way smaller countries can capitalise on their competitive advantages to create a steady foundation for a fair digital economy and we look forward to a close and constructive cooperation,” she said.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Kokkinos noted that capitalising on its geostrategic location, Cyprus traditionally maintained strong and close ties with the countries of the region, both at bilateral and multilateral level.

“We truly believe that our accession to the DCO will inject new momentum in further growing our existing friendly and mutually rewarding relationships. As the first EU member state to join the DCO, and a natural crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa, Cyprus aspires to act as a bridge between nations, people and ideas, facilitating communication, collaboration and knowledge transfer, while paving the way for others to join.”

Cyprus’ goal is to achieve a further and sustained uptake in digital adoption across government, enterprise, and society.

As a country, it has a lot to offer in this multilateral equation.

“We have achieved tremendous progress in developing our digital economy, investing in gigabit connectivity and emerging technologies, forming a new cybersecurity framework, promoting innovative entrepreneurship and facilitating the digital transformation of businesses, advancing the digital fitness of our workforce and citizens and implementing an aggressive e-government agenda,” he added.