Page 94 - SAMENA Trends - February 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

United Arab Emirates

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the noting that this report sheds light on some of the capabilities
Digital Government issued a report on the enablers of digital of the digital government supervised by the Communications
transformation in the UAE. The report included the most important Regulatory Authority and the digital government, and it does not
stations that the digital transformation process has gone through cover all possibilities, as some of these possibilities are still under
in the country since its establishment. The report also presents development and implementation, and the authority will work
a brief picture of the role of the Telecommunications Regulatory in subsequent versions to expand the dissemination of digital
Authority and the Digital Government in empowering government enablers, including achieve inclusivity. (February 14, 2022) tdra.gov.ae
agencies and society in the process of transformation. Digital,
this role is consistent with the authority’s mandate to work The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory
on two parallel and complementary tracks represented in Authority issued the UAE Digital Transformation Enablers report,
regulating and enabling both the telecommunications and highlighting the important milestones of the digital transformation
information technology sector on the one hand, and digital process through a series of initiatives. The report reviewed the
transformation on the other hand. On this report, His Excellency digital enterprises undertaken by TDRA, the most important of
Eng. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Deputy Director General of the which are the Federal Network, UAEPass, the Government Service
Authority for the Digital Government Sector, said: “Throughout Bus and the national customer relationship management system
the path of the union, and since the establishment of the state (NCRM), the government agency said. "The UAE was one of the
in 1971, modernization and development has always taken into first countries to launch the e-government project at the beginning
account the latest developments and developments, especially of the millennium and then continued its leadership in the next
electronic and digital technologies, which have become seen various stages to reach the digital government we live in today,
with the beginning of The millennium as a revolutionary way to which is consistent with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the
facilitate people's lives and provide them with services around era of data and advanced technologies supported with artificial
the clock.The United Arab Emirates, based on the future vision intelligence," said Mohammad Al Zarooni, TDRA deputy director
of the wise leadership, was one of the first countries to launch general for the Digital Government Sector. The UAE leads the Arab
the e-government project at the beginning of the millennium, and world in digital progress and preparedness for the future, a
then continued its leadership in the following various stages to separate survey issued by the Portulans Institute in collaboration
reach the digital government in which we live Today, which is with Google said. The Emirates stood third – with Singapore
consistent with the fourth industrial revolution and the era of claiming the number one spot – among 27 emerging global
data and highly advanced technologies supported by artificial economies, the Future Readiness Index survey said. The UAE was
intelligence. He added: "The report monitors an important part ranked 23rd out of 123 countries. The UAE has also ranked among
of the march of our beloved country, a part that begins with the the world's best countries in terms of government digital
establishment of the General Information Authority in 1982, within transformation, becoming the only Arab nation in this group, said
a comprehensive and future vision of our wise leadership, leading the World Bank's GovTech Maturity Index 2021 that measured the
to what we are witnessing today from the inauguration of a new reliance on modern tech in government work in 198 states. The
phase represented in the next fifty years and the vision of the Emirates also ranked 21st globally in the UN e-Government
UAE Centennial 2071." The Digital Government Enablers report Survey 2020, advancing eight positions over 2016, in terms of
reviewed the results of the most important global indicators online services, telecom infrastructure and human capital. The
that reflect the country's leadership in digital maturity, as the Gulf country also came ninth globally in the IMD Digital
UAE came among the best countries in the world in government Competitiveness Ranking. The TDRA has a mandate to work on
digital transformation, to be the only Arab country in this group two parallel and integrated tracks, which are to regulate and
in the government digital maturity report issued by the World enable the ICT sector and advance the country's digital
Bank. The country also ranked 21 globally in the United Nations transformation. The TDRA's report highlighted the main enablers
eGovernment Survey 2020, advancing by 8 places over the results of digital transformation in the UAE, such as the digital signature
of 2016, and the UAE ranked eighth globally in the smart services (UAEPass), the digital verification platform (UAE Verify), the digital
index within the United Nations eGovernment Development Index trust platform, the digital services marketplace, the Government
in 2020. The report reviewed the most important digital initiatives Service Bus (GSB), the UAE Hackathon and the API Marketplace,
undertaken by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and among others, to showcase the facts, figures and results related
the Digital Government by virtue of its central responsibility for to these enablers. UAEPass, a platform that allows residents and
digital transformation in the country. The report also highlighted visitors to access government services using a unified digital
the main enablers of digital transformation in the country, such identity, has 2.66 million people registered to this service, the
as the digital signature, the digital verification platform, the TDRA said in its report. The Digital Vault within UAEPass allows
digital trust platform, the digital services store, the government users to request their official digital documents and link them to
services link, the UAE hackathon and the virtual market for their digital identity. It has 1.7 million registered users and
software interfaces, and others, reviewing the most important facilitated 2.8 million transactions and shared 1.1 million digital
facts, figures and results related to these capabilities. It is worth documents. (February 6, 2022) thenationalnews.com
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