GEC NEWS WIREGovernment participation at GITEX Technology Week up 25% this year
Governments across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are ramping up their e-government services in order to meet the demands of constituents, according to industry experts.
Across the region, e-government has taken off in a big way in recent years, with the GCC eGov Committee highlighting initiatives such as the UAE’s “Government Portal’ and Dubai’s “Smart Government”, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s “Yesser”, Qatar’s “Hukoomi”, Oman’s “Omanuna”, Kuwait’s “Kuwait Government Portal”, and Bahrain’s “eGovernment Portal”,.
Dubai’s “Smart Government” is one of the country’s many e-government success stories, having earned a United Nations Public Service Award earlier this year. Fady Kassatly, a specialist on technology in the public sector for consulting firm Booz & Co. said, “E-Government allows the delivery of services in a much more efficient way than traditional government offices and government service counters. It has been at the forefront of every government agenda in the GCC, and the UAE in particular over the last decade.”
The region now set to expand on its e-government credentials to embrace mobile in a big way, with the Government of Dubai again leading the charge. In May, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of the Middle East’s first mGovernment service, joining a select group of countries actively pioneering greater government interaction via mobile platforms. The service is set to be fully accessible across all government departments in the country within 24 months.
The growing influence of e-government and the shift to mobile will be top of the agenda at this year’s GITEX Technology Week.
