Riyadh - The Digital Cooperation Organization’s (DCO) Secretariat General said in a statement that it will hold urgent discussions with Member States and digital economy experts to address the implications of the global IT outage that disrupted vital operations around the world, affecting businesses like airlines, banks, broadcasters, software providers, and more.

The DCO Secretariat General states that “the high level of impact the world witnessed as a result of the unfortunate outage is alarming and indicates the dire need for a more effective and agile international digital cooperation”. In addition, “the incident raised questions on continuity and sustainability in a world rapidly moving towards being highly dependent on digital channels and platforms. It is very crucial that the international community develops proper policies and protocols to mitigate the risks of such incidents and ensure the continuity of at least essential operations.

To this end, the DCO Secretariat General has called for an urgent deliberation for its Member States and digital economy experts to “capture the lessons learned from this incident, assess its impact on national digital transformation plans in Member States, and plan practical steps to ensure that relevant stakeholders across sectors are aligned and ready to deal with such mishaps”.

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About the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)

The Digital Cooperation Organization is the world's first standalone international intergovernmental organization focusing on the acceleration of the growth of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. It is a global multilateral organization founded in November 2020 that aims to enable digital prosperity for all.

The DCO brings together the Ministries of Communications and Information Technology of its Member States, and is focused on empowering youth, women, and entrepreneurs, leveraging the accelerative power of the digital economy, and leapfrogging with innovation to drive economic growth and increase social prosperity.

The 16 DCO Member States include the Kingdom of Bahrain, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of The Gambia, the Republic of Ghana, the Hellenic Republic (Greece), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Sultanate of Oman, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Rwanda, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - collectively representing nearly $3.5 trillion in GDP and a market of nearly 800 million people, more than 70% of whom are under the age of 35.

Through cooperation and strategic dialogue, we drive the facilitation of mutually advantageous cross-border legislation. The DCO seeks to establish within its Member States the optimal infrastructure and policies for the rapid creation of inclusive and equitable digital economies within which all people, businesses, and societies can innovate and thrive. The DCO’s vision is to work towards a world in which every nation, business, and person has a fair opportunity to prosper in the digital economy.

In pursuit of the Member States’ common interests, the DCO works collaboratively with governments, the private sector, international organizations, NGOs, and civil society to enable more inclusive digital transformation and the growth of the digital economy.

The DCO’s key initiatives include programs to enhance cross-border data flows, promote market expansion for SMEs, empower digital entrepreneurs, and advance digital inclusion among women, and the youth, and other underrepresented populations.

More information about the DCO can be found at:
Website: www.DCO.org
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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/DCOrg
For media inquiries, please contact media@DCO.org