Bhutan’s prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck becomes country’s FIRST ‘digital citizen’
Thimphu: Bhutan’s royal highness The Gyalsey (Prince) Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, has become the country’s first digital citizen by coming on board with the Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) mobile wallet, a report by The Bhutan Live said.
According to the outlet, Bhutan NDI uses ‘cutting-edge technology to provide citizens with secure and verifiable identity credentials, ensuring the privacy and protection of their personal information’.
The system uses the ‘self-sovereign identity’ model based on Decentralised Identity (DID) technology, which provides people with more control over their personal information and its access.
Jigme Tenzing, acting secretary for GovTech Bhutan was quoted by the outlet as saying, “We are honoured and privileged to have His Royal Highness as the first digital citizen of Bhutan. The launch of Bhutan’s National Digital Identity based on the Self-Sovereign Identity model, is a major step forward in transforming the way services are delivered in both the public and private sectors.”
“This flagship initiative of GovTech will provide secure and verifiable digital identities to citizens, laying a strong foundation for our digital future. We are delighted to have worked closely with the excellent team at DHI on developing the technologies for Bhutan NDI. We hope this example of using technology to transform lives while safeguarding privacy will inspire and motivate others to follow suit.”
Ujjwal D Dahal, director, of Bhutan-based DHI InnoTech, said, “We are proud to work with GovTech Bhutan as a development partner on this important project which will help transform the way citizens and all visitors to Bhutan will interact with government and private sector organisations in the future.
“Bhutan NDI will ensure that the citizens and residents can access the services they need in a secure and efficient manner. We aspire to be pioneers in this technology space in solving problems within and beyond our boundaries.”