The Kingdom of Bahrain on Sunday announced the launch of the eGovernment strategy 2016, a step seen as a vital in keeping Bahrain abreast with dynamic changes taking place in the global ICT sector.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, announced the launch of the new national eGovernment strategy which will be fully implemented by 2016, and described it as another new step in the eGovernment drive towards enhanced position for the Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of eGovernment services at the international level.
His Highness stressed the government determination to craft and identify its future path through a new vision that prepares Bahrain for the digital future. To this end, His Highness pointed out a number of objectives including the improvement of community engagement through developing the eGovernment channels and services and proactively made them available to all, nurturing more innovations and entrepreneurship initiatives through public-private sectors partnership which will benefit numerous stakeholders and the community to generate more employment opportunities for both the existing and next generation, providing highest protection of information which gives trust for users in the government and private sectors, and finally ensuring higher performing, efficient government to deliver high quality services for all community groups which are developed by skilled, and proficiently trained government employees, and equip them with tools and technologies to multiply their productivity.
His Highness Deputy Prime Minister disclosed that the new national eGovernment strategy comprises more than 90 new initiatives that will be launched throughout the next four years. These will be extended to include setting necessary legislations and regulations to maintain a secure electronic environment, developing advanced infrastructure and technology capabilities in all government entities, strengthening the procedures of service provision through one-stop-shops, launching new communication channels, such as social media networks to communicate with citizens, creating data open platforms to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and develop a number of new applications and services – to mention a few .
Deputy Prime Minister also announced the launch of new strategic initiatives which prove the government commitment and determination to pursue leadership in this vital field.
“The eKey system we launch today is the first of its kind in the region; it offers three levels of security including passcode, smart card, and biometric identity verification and enables users to use an integrated eKey to access government services offered through all available channels and in the future, it will accommodate the services offered by the private sector through the same eKey to provide highly secured transactions with the government and private sector,” he said.
His Highness also announced the launch of new Mobile Apps for the first time based on GPS technology which offers three levels of security including passcode, smart card, and biometric identity verification and enables users to use an integrated eKey to access government services offered through all available channels. In the future, it will accommodate the services offered by the private sector through the same eKey to provide a better engage and highly secured transactions with the government and private sector.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT) opened Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2012 yesterday evening at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
This year’s forum is jointly organized by the eGovernment Authority in cooperation with Bahrain Society of Engineers, Project Management Institute – Arabian Gulf Chapter and Bahrain Internet Society.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa pointed out that the organization of Bahrain International eGovernment Forum is the result of the eminent and distinguished position that the Kingdom of Bahrain has gained as an important information and communication technology hub, highlighting that the Forum is an all-inclusive space for knowledge and culture for stakeholders, professionals and leaders of the industry at local, regional and global levels.
The Deputy Prime Minister illuminated that the eGovernment, in collaboration with various ministries and entities has launched hundreds of eServices through multiple channels, and implemented a range of unique systems, such as the eTendering system, the National Authentication Framework and the National Payment Gateway and other systems that benchmark with global ICT trends and strengthen the principles of fairness and transparency in government work and create a sustainable investment environment in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.
His Highness Deputy Prime Minister pointed out as a result of such achievements; the Kingdom of Bahrain ranked 1st in the region in online service delivery according to the UN eGovernment Development Readiness Index 2012. The report commended Bahrain for providing initiatives based on citizenry feedback to develop online services, and for its role in enabling people with special needs to access services through the use of information and communication technology.
The bi-annual UN eGovernment Development Report also praised Bahrain’s efforts in recent years in spreading and enhancing multi-channel service delivery at same standards of online services as those offered by global leaders such as France, Australia and Norway. His Highness expressed his thanks to all the ministries for their cooperation, particularly Ministries of Finance, Education, Health, Human Rights and Social Development and the Labour Market Regulatory Authority which contributed to rating Bahrain in such a leading position.