UAE- Arab League Assigns the Management of the .arab Domain Names to the TRA

DUBAI 27th March 2016 (WAM) - The General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) has announced today that the United Arab Emirates - represented by the TRA - has been assigned by the Arab League to be in charge of the management and execution of the (.arab) and (.) top-level domain names project. This assignment is considered as an affirmation of the expertise and efficiency in the information and communications technology sector.

The (.Arab) and (.) domain names project is considered one of the most strategic projects for the Technology sector in the region and is expected to increase the amount of websites and online services in Arabic. Additionally it will allow Arab users more access to unique domain names that represent the Arabic identity.

Commenting on this assignment Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri TRA Director General said: "We would like to thank the team who is in charge of the top-level domain names project at the Arab League for their trust and appreciation for the role that UAE performs as a strategic enabler of further partnerships among all the members of the Arab League. In this occasion we would like to confirm the importance of the (.Arab) and (.) top-level domain names project in providing new domain names for individuals and organizations across the Arab world. We will run this project according to the most developed systems and infrastructure."

"This accomplishment will be added to the UAE's and the TRA's track record of achievements in the ICT sector. The Arab League's decision comes as a result of seven years of hard work through which the assigned committee was assessing and selecting the most suitable entity to carry out this project. It is worth mentioning that the TRA has been a strategic partner in this project since the beginning through playing an important role in obtaining the domain names (.Arab) and (.) from the (Icann) organization which is responsible for the international domain name system including policy and supporting schemes development for the domain names system" he added.

The assignment of the TRA to manage and execute this project reflects the large success achieved by the national domain name (.ae) which is considered the most successful and dominant Arab domain name with more than 175 thousand subscribers. Additionally this is a reflection of the TRA's success in managing the top-level domain name (.) which is considered one of the first top-level domain names that are registered in non-Latin letters.

The TRA will be responsible for the management of the two top-level domain names projects during an initial period that extends to 3 5 years. In this period the TRA will be in charge of the operating the domain names on behalf of the Arab League and under the supervision of the Council of the Arab Ministers for Communications and Information. The (.Arab) and (.) domain names are expected to be available for users through the certified registrars at the (ICANN) organization upon the completion of the final assessments by the end of 2016.