Addressing a joint Press conference the experts from all Gulf countries said that in the presence of a necessary legal framework, political will and technical knowhow, GCC as a bloc can create a knowledge-based economy by integrating its e-Government services and pool of talent in various sectors across the region.
Mohammed Ahmed Al Qaed, Chief Executive of eGovernment Authority Bahrain, who is also Chairman of the Supreme organising Committee of the UN Public Service Forum 2013 said that he was overwhelmed with the of participation of 100 countries and the quality of expertise during the Forum.
“We as a GCC will continue to work together to host such events in future in any of the GCC countries for a common goal of collective benefit,” he said, adding that the sharing of expertise during the workshops would pave the way for new thinking to meet the challenges in the e-Government sector across the region.
Al Qaed, during a Press conference which held at the Bahrain International Circuit, was joined by Dr Zakriya Ahmed Al Khaja, Kingdom of Bahrain; Salem bin Sultan Al Marzuqi, Oman; Engineer Ali bin Saleh Al Sameh, the Kingdom f Saudi Arabia; Abdullatif Sari and Alsari, Kuwait; Hussain Salem Jassem Sayed, Qatar and Salman Ali from the United Aran Emirates.
The experts also highlighted the importance of creating public private sector partnership (PPP) to implement the any of the initiatives by passing on benefits to the private sector companies working in the IT and ICT sectors.
During the Press conference the participants stressed upon the need to establish an integrated GCC projects platform as part of a strategy to maximise the collective benefits of the any innovative initiative.
The Gulf Cooperation Council countries workshop showcased the GCC experiences in the fields of public service and eGovernment at the local and regional levels. It was held during the UN Public Service Day 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit on 25th and 26th June.
During the sessions 20 GCC initiatives in public service were shared with the aim to exchange experiences and success stories in different domains, including the GCC integrated eGovernment platform, smart government applications, complaints Systems, in addition to other systems relating to monitoring performance, information security and protecting users’ information.
The workshop participants identified specific areas and recommendations.
With regard to transferring the GCC experience to other countries worldwide and strengthening ties with international organizations the following outcomes have been reached:
1. Emphasizing the importance of continue conducting international conferences and transferring the GCC countries’ pioneering initiatives to various countries worldwide, especially those striving to promote electronic services.
2. Building solid partnerships with regional and international organizations in order to exchange knowledge and strengthen cooperation, drawing in the fact that the GCC experience is rich and through such partnerships support can be extended to member countries.
3. Establishing integrated GCC platform to include the region projects and success stories that won regional awards to be available for various countries and take advantage of the experiences of the GCC countries
4. Stressing the need to take advantage of international standards and policies applicable in the fields of public service and eServices.
With regard to the GCC countries role in a adopting the best international practices and experiences, participants recommended to:
1. Expand the activation of innovative electronic channels to promote public service for all segments of society, taking into account the complaints and proposals from users. This will enhance the transparency in government work and provide effective services that will satisfy the client needs.
2. Emphasize the importance of building partnerships with the private sector in the provision and convenient delivery of eGovernment services, particularly those common and shared services between the GCC
3. Build the knowledge economy through the exchange of success stories among the GCC countries for sustainable cognitive development.
4. Focus on knowledge transfer processes of national experiences and support the national human resources in this field to trigger the spirit of leadership, innovation and excellence.
5. Focus on cooperation in the field of information security to protect the information and infrastructure from cybercrime.
6. Adopt joint initiatives that can bring short-term successes, including GCC network-governmental, and the GCC joint domain.
7. Expand public services provision for people with special needs through different means of communication policy which enhances access to all segments of society in line with the international standards.