Arlington, VA – The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a technical assistance grant to the Maldives Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology (MECCT) that will help make government services more efficient, less costly, and more resilient in the event of disasters. Specifically, USTDA’s assistance will support the development of a sustainable cloud-based Government Digital Services (GDS) platform that will also accelerate the digital transformation of the Maldives’ national healthcare system and other citizen services.
“Digital technology has the power to transform how we do business, helping to make public service delivery faster, smarter, and more equitable through increased access to remote and marginalized communities,” said Enoh T. Ebong, USTDA’s Director. “This partnership with MECCT will support the Maldives’ development goals and enhance its ability to effectively respond to disruptions caused by natural disasters and climate change. U.S. companies offer many of the solutions for the proposed GDS platform.”
The GDS platform will consolidate existing government data centers and other critical digital infrastructure used by public sector entities in the Maldives. This will increase public sector capacity for data management and security, as well as enable data-driven decision-making through the adoption of a secure government technology stack, cloud computing systems, open data platforms and applications.
“ICT stands as a pivotal strategy within the government’s vison of a connected island nation, fostering cohesion among small island communities in both the physical realm and a secure, dynamic cyberspace,” said Mohamed Shareef, Minister of State for Environment, Climate Change and Technology. “This collaboration with USTDA will facilitate the establishment of the Government Digital Services with secure, robust digital public infrastructure for a national cloud in the Maldives, seamlessly integrated with global cloud service providers, thereby accelerating our nation’s digital development pursuits.”
USTDA’s technical assistance will help evaluate the Maldives’ current operational and regulatory environment, establish data classification and usage standards, provide detailed data center and platform architecture designs, recommend a workforce capacity building strategy, and prepare data and analysis required for financing and implementation of the project. The assistance will also help MECCT to establish a cloud center of excellence that will serve as a public-private partnership with cloud service providers and other technology vendors to deliver continued training and engagement on international best practices for public sector cloud adoption in the Maldives.
U.S. Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Maldives, Hugo Yue-Ho Yon, said: “We are proud to partner with MECCT on this project and digital strategy that will advance the Maldives’ efforts to bring enhanced, efficient, and secure digital services to the Maldivian people.”
USTDA’s support for this project advances the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment with the goal of developing, expanding, and deploying secure digital infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies.
U.S. companies interested in submitting proposals for the USTDA-funded technical assistance should visit www.ustda.gov/work/bid-on-an-overseas-project.
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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
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