Argentina decided to adopt Korean e-government systems as part of the effort to reform its government. The presence of Korean e-government systems in Argentina is likely to raise the international status of Korea and help related Korean businesses increase their export volume.

The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding in the area of e-government with the Ministry of Modernization of the Argentine Republic in Seoul on June 30. The conclusion of the MOU was the result of a series of exchanges between the two countries after Argentina’s active request to Korea to sign the MOU and enhance their bilateral cooperation in the area of e-government. The signing ceremony was held on the occasion of Argentine Minister Andres Ibarra of Modernization’s visit to Seoul to attend the 2016 Korea-Latin America Partnership Forum.

After its inception last December, the Macri administration of Argentina announced a national modernization plan and then newly established the Ministry of Modernization to implement the modernization plan. The modernization plan contains a public sector reform project that includes human resources development driven by open government, e-government, and education and training. According to the modernization plan, the Argentine Ministry of Modernization is planning to adopt e-government systems so as to reinvent public administration and realize citizen-centric public sector. In order to give impetus to its reform efforts, Argentina decided to benchmark Korea’s e-government systems that are most advanced in the world and made the country rank first in the UN E-Government Survey for three consecutive terms.

As Korea’s e-government development model is passed on to Argentina thanks to the MOU, it is expected that it will be easier for Korean businesses to enter the Argentine market.