The Executive Director of the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA), Eng. Abdallah Anati, participated in an official visit to Singapore as part of the Palestinian delegation headed by the Minister of Local Government, H.E Dr. Sami Hajawi. The visit aimed to learn from Singapore’s leading experience in government digital transformation and public service development, including designing citizen-centered services and enhancing citizens’ participation in their development, as well as exploring international best practices in government innovation.

The delegation included representatives from the Local Government Units Development and Lending Fund, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the Palestine Monetary Authority, the municipalities of Ramallah and Al-Eizariya, as well as specialists and academics, the Information Technology Association – Palestine (PITA), and representatives of the INDIGO II project.

The visit program included a series of meetings and field visits to leading Singaporean institutions, including the Civil Service College, GovTech Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, the Singapore Design Council, and the Centre for Strategic Futures, among others. These engagements provided an opportunity to gain first-hand insight into Singapore’s experience in government digital transformation and its achievements in public service design and delivery, institutional efficiency, and the use of digital solutions and innovation across various sectors, including solid waste management.

APLA’s participation in the visit reflects its commitment to learning from international experiences and assessing the relevance of the practices and solutions gained from them to the Palestinian context. This contributes to improving the services provided by local government units, streamlining procedures, and enhancing service quality and accessibility. The visit also provides an opportunity to build on the progress already made in Palestine in the digital transformation of local government units, in line with relevant government policies and directions.

The visit was conducted as part of the INDIGO II project, implemented with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the (GIZ), within efforts to support the development of local governance, advance digital transformation, and promote innovation in public service delivery.