Islamabad, (TW NEWS) – A high-level multi-institutional delegation from Somalia, led by Mr. Abdiwali Ali Abdulle, Director General of Somalia’s National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), concluded a ten-day peer learning mission to Pakistan focused on strengthening Somalia’s digital public ecosystem.

Convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country offices in Pakistan and Somalia, the mission brought together key Somali representatives from NIRA, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Somalia, and other financial-sector and development institutions. During the visit, the delegation engaged with Pakistani counterparts working across digital identity, digital government, social protection, taxation, digital payments and citizen service delivery.

During the mission, the delegation visited the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to learn about Pakistan’s national identity system and its institutional arrangements. Discussions at the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, together with relevant digital institutions, covered Pakistan’s digital public infrastructure, interoperability and the development of a national data exchange layer. The delegation also visited an e-Khidmat Centre in Lahore to observe how multiple public services can be delivered to citizens through an integrated platform.

At the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the delegation reviewed the National Socio-Economic Registry and Pakistan’s approach to digital social protection payments. Discussions with the Federal Board of Revenue explored how digital identity and data integration can support taxpayer registration. The State Bank of Pakistan presented Raast, the country’s instant payment system, as well as the banking sector’s shared electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) platform. A session with local civil society organizations examined approaches to reaching women, displaced populations and communities facing barriers to registration.

The mission concluded with the Somalia-Pakistan Technical Cooperation Roundtable, attended by Honorable Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, as Chief Guest. Supported by UNDP Pakistan and UNDP Somalia, the roundtable brought together senior representatives from key participating institutions to reflect on key lessons, partnership priorities, and technical pathways for continued collaboration.

“We consider digital governance as an important instrument for improving public service delivery, institutional efficiency, accountability, and citizen inclusion. Parliament must be part of the transformation. It has an important role in ensuring that digital transformation is inclusive, secure, accountable, and rights based. The Senate of Pakistan has itself been undertaking an important journey of digital transformation on the concept of paperless e-Parliament,” said Mr. Gilani in his remarks.

“This mission has given us an opportunity to learn from Pakistan’s experience and identify what can be adapted to Somalia’s context,” said Mr. Abdiwali Ali Abdulle, Director General, NIRA. “Pakistan has valuable experience in areas including digital identity, digital finance, social protection and interoperability, while Somalia’s experience with mobile money and rapid digital adoption offers important lessons for Pakistan. This is, therefore, a partnership among equals, grounded in mutual learning and shared experience.”

At the roundtable, participants validated the Somalia-Pakistan Partnership Action Matrix, which sets out agreed areas of cooperation with a focus on three broad areas: foundational and legal identity; digital public infrastructure and governance, including interoperability and secure data exchange; and financial inclusion and digital public financing, including digital payments, e-KYC, social protection disbursement and revenue administration.

His Excellency Mr. Jama Hassan, Counsellor at the Embassy of Somalia, said, “Over the course of this programme, we have gained valuable insight into Pakistan’s experience in developing an applied functional identity system and a wider e-governance system, digital ecosystem of public infrastructure. One important lesson stands out clearly: functional identity is not synonymous to number or databases.”

“Legal identity is foundational to inclusive governance, opening access to services, social protection and finance. In Pakistan, UNDP’s partnership with NADRA has helped more than one million women secure identity documents. This mission is about sharing those lessons and adapting what works for Somalia while advancing trust, inclusion and data protection alongside technology,” said Dr. Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan.