GCC Ministerial Committees For E-Govt, Post And Telecom Convene In Doha

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA

Doha: Under the State of Qatar's presidency, Doha hosted the 8th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for e-Government and the 28th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Post and Telecommunications of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC).

The meeting was attended by Their Excellencies the Ministers of Communications, Information Technology, and Postal services of the GCC countries together with Secretary-General of the GCC H E Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.

In his opening speech, Minister of Communications and Information technology H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai stressed the importance of cooperation between the GCC countries in the fields of communications and information technology, highlighting the significant impact of these efforts in achieving the shared goals of member states.

He said,“Our cooperation today reflects the depth of the friendly and long-standing ties between our countries, and our mutual commitment to enhancing integration and unifying efforts in the postal and communications sectors, which play a crucial role in developing our national economies and enhancing competitiveness at both the regional and international levels.”

The Minister added,“We are confident that this meeting will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the GCC countries and will be an important step towards realizing our aspirations in building a prosperous and secure digital society. What we have achieved so far is just the beginning of a series of achievements we aim to accomplish by establishing a strong and advanced technology sector that contributes to creating new job opportunities and seeks to increase investments by adopting innovative business models and localizing the latest technological advancements.”

For his part, Secretary-General of the GCC H E Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi highlighted the significance of the topics discussed by both meetings, which will shape the upcoming phase of cooperation among member states in the field of digital governance, as the GCC Ministerial Committee for E-Government launches the GCC e-Government Guiding Strategy (2024-2030), the unified digital access framework for the GCC and look into the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

He also praised the Ministerial Committee for E-Government's efforts since its inception, in addition to its pursuit of achieving a complete digital transformation in the government sector using top-notch global best practices and innovations, thus, leading global digital governance rankings.

Albudaiwi attributed these achievements to the Committee's interest in e-governance and the substantial benefits that a strong and effective digital government will bring to the economies of the GCC, including increased productivity, improved efficiency, and facilitated services.

The Secretary-General of the GCC also noted that the significant progress made by the Ministerial Committee for Post and Telecommunications on various fronts, taking the initial steps on space cooperation, considering the reduction of roaming charges among GCC countries, preparing a comprehensive plan for the telecommunications sector, and launching the Gulf research award on technology foresight and digital economy.

In this context, the ministerial committee discussed several topics on the agenda, including the launch of the e-Government Strategic Framework 2024-2030, as well as reviewing the minutes of the committees and teams affiliated with the GCC e-Government Executive Committee. This included the minutes of the Joint Electronic Services Working Group, the Unified Software and Hardware Purchase Working Group, the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Working Group, and the Digital Trust Services Working Group.

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