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Dubai The UAE government has set aside Dh150.36 million over the next two years to push even more government services online.
Salem Khamis Al Shair Al Suwaidi, deputy director general for the information sector and eGovernment at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said that the move would enhance the competitiveness of the UAE as a global fin-ance centre.
“By implementing these initiatives we aim to contribute towards achieving the UAE Vision 2021,” he said.
Al Suwaidi said major projects that will be launched this year include the interactive and collaborative electronic encyclopaedia of the UAE (UAEPedia), the UAE eGovernment Award, the computing cloud of the UAE government and the Open Government Programme.
Cabinet approval
The UAE Cabinet, headed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the strategy in February. Shaikh Mohammad emphasised that the shift to eServices would boost the UAE’s socio-economic level and directed all ministries and federal institutions to provide comprehensive eServices to the public within two years.
He said the ultimate objective of Emirates eGovernment is to make government services faster and more cost effective, delivering services and information through different channels such as the internet, fixed and mobile phones and kiosks, besides the traditional service centres.
Al Suwaidi said the UAEPedia will be launched in Arabic next month and later in English.
Survey
Quoting a recently released biennial UN eGovernment Survey 2012, he said the UAE has jumped to the sixth position globally in the e-participation leaders list and to the 28th position in the e-Government Development Index.
The country’s ranking in the online service index has also gone up to 12th globally since the United Nations started publishing its e-Government Index in 2003. The United Nations e-Government Development Index (EGDI) is a composite indicator measuring the willingness and capacity of national administrations to use information and communication technology to deliver public services.
It is based on a comprehensive survey of the online presence of all 193 member states, which assesses the technical features of national web sites as well as e-government policies and strategies applied in general and by specific sectors for delivery of essential services.
The UAE also topped the Arab and GCC countries in the survey.
The ultimate objective of Emirates eGovernment is to make government services faster and more cost-effective.
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