Manama: Kingdom of Bahrain represented by eGovernment Authority (eGA) hosted the 2nd study tour of the UN delegation representing 21 States in a visit for one week, organized and funded by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in an aim to maximizing benefits from Bahrain’s experience in areas covering eGovernment, Development initiatives and innovative public service projects.
The study tour was arranged based on an earlier positive successful similar visit paid in last January, and on the grounds that Bahrain has successfully hosted the 2013 United Nations Public Service Forum last June. The forum was attended by over 700 participants representing 97 states and held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the King of Bahrain. It was the first time that such event takes place in the Middle East – making Bahrain the fourth country in the world to host the forum outside the UN premises in New York.
The CEO of eGovernment Authority, Mohammed Ali AlQaed welcomed the visiting delegation, noted the significance of this meeting aimed at the transfer of knowledge, expertise and best practices and expressed his pride that UNDESA & DPADM have chosen Bahrain to serve as a model for other States to follow and this excellent track record is undoubtedly a source of pride for Bahrain in terms of its leading initiatives in eGovernment and public service.
Al Qaed confirmed that the advanced level in the field of public service and eGovernment attained by Bahrain resulted of the wise leadership’s directives which aim to provide all facilities for the provision of services to citizens through the development of government performance and enhance transparency, in addition to the support and continuous follow-up by the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology, chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister. Bahrain was ranked in the UN eGovernment Survey Report 2014 first in five geographic regions advancing to the 18th place in eGovernment readiness worldwide compared to the 36th place in the former report of 2012. Within the Online Service Index, Bahrain was able to maintain its 7th position, making it 1st among Arab countries and 3rd among the Asian.
Al Qaed emphasized that Kingdom of Bahrain has prioritized the ICT as a basis for sustainable development by improving the quality of public services in line with the current Government Program, and the National eGovernment Strategy 2016.
“The 2nd study tour shows Bahrain’s eGovernment Authority commitment not only to do their work very well, but also to share their experience. We are very grateful for this initiative as UN,” Peter Grohmann, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative expressed his appreciation for hosting the visit and said.
“The delegate will learn the sustain efforts of Bahrain’s eGovernment over many years, which I think is the key point to get from this experience. Each year I find new initiative by eGovernment being offered to citizens of Bahrain, with a constant innovation of developing the service, along with the buy in, the delegate will be experiencing this week, from institutions in the country, in which the eGovernment is leading in terms of technology”.
John-Mary Kazuya, Head of Delegates Chief of Governance and Public Administration Branch at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) thanked the Kingdom of Bahrain and eGovernment Authority (eGA) for the acceptance to transfer its successful experience and provide support for other States to ensure developing their public services, highlighted that this initiative is a reaffirmation of Bahrain’s commitment to drive global development in the eGovernment. He also added: “The success of any eGovernment program is hard to achieve and requires tremendous efforts, commitment and proper planning. What makes it harder is to being able to document it, and Bahrain has succefully managed to meet all of the above and share it with the other countries.”
Salah Khalifa Al-Bin Jassim, Chairman of the Bahrain Information Technology Society (BITS) delivered a presentation highlighting the use of technology in Bahrain, the key technological milestones seen by Bahrain from the sixties up to now, tackling the key role played by NGOs in ICT field in the country.
The delegation will visit many governmental entities such as Ministries of Health, Education, Industry and Commerce, Central Informatics Organization and Bahrain Investors Centre, Civil Service Berue, Social Development, Finance, Works Municipalities and Urban Planning, Telecommunication Regularity Authority and Silah Gulf Company. Such visits have been organized by the eGA, in conjunction with Bahrain Information Technology Society. The core focus of these visits is to sharing and exchange expertise, systems and projects (within the ICT sector) that are designed for individuals, investors and ICT infrastructure.