ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday launched the “Share Pakistan Portal” – a paperless initiative of digital outreach and public diplomacy activities between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s diplomatic missions abroad.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the portal, the foreign minister said the “Share Pakistan Portal” would serve as a digital repository of outreach and public diplomacy activities undertaken by our Missions abroad.
The portal is developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the National Information Technology Board (NITB).
With this online standardised information system, he added “we would be able to collect, measure, and communicate the impact of public diplomacy initiatives in pursuance of Pakistani foreign policy objectives.”
He said “Share Pakistan Portal” was the first project to be launched under the Change Management Initiative and it would serve as a vehicle for targeted communication and information exchange.
He added that it was designed to simplify communication and sharing of information both horizontally and vertically in the public diplomacy domain between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic posts abroad. “This portal will bring efficiency and transparency in our various public diplomacy initiatives as we add a standardised assessment tool of the qualitative and quantitative impact of public programmes across all Missions abroad,” he added.
The foreign minister said that going digital was no longer optional and by launching “Share Pakistan Portal” globally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also stepping into the latest trends.
“This paperless digital tool is the first portal launch covering the integration of digital technologies in both our public diplomacy strategic outreach efforts and institution,” he said.
He further stated that it would be used in diplomacy for outreach decision support, drafting strategic communication, translating foreign policy, and analysis of the latest trends.
“I believe that this digital tool can serve as model for future projects for useful and effective communication between the Ministry and its missions. We hope to thus transform the work culture of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government of Pakistan,” he added.
He also hoped that the portal would be the first step to simplification of communication systems and IT-based solutions in the engagement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with other government departments and facilitate inter-department coordination. In order to remain relevant, agile and responsive to the needs of our constituencies at home and aboard, he emphasised that there was a need for major transformative projects to reform the management structure.
He pointed out that the “Foreign Minister’s Change Management Initiative” was a commitment to improving the Ministry’s ability to effectively deliver on its mandates through managements reforms.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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