The 21st Meeting of the Executive Committee of the e-Government of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the participation of the United Arab Emirates represented by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The participating delegations discussed 13 topics on the agenda of the meeting, in addition to the latest developments in the Gulf region regarding the e-government sector.
During the meeting, the GCC representatives reviewed the report of the General Secretariat on the implementation of the Ministerial Committee's resolutions and progress reports on the implementation of the joint initiatives emanating from the e-Government Guidance Strategy, which was developed in recognition of the importance of e-government as a tool for sustainable development to achieve the well-being of the people in GCC countries and its importance in supporting integration among the GCC countries.
The E-Government Executive Committee aims to develop e-government at the national and Gulf level, enhance cooperation among the GCC countries, support e-integration between GCC countries and use e-government as a tool for sustainable development and enhance GCC competitiveness in the field of e-government regionally and globally.
On this participation, H.E. Salem Al Housani, Acting Deputy Director General for Information and e-Government Sector, said: “The UAE is keen to participate actively in all initiatives and events emanating from the GCC, as it embodies the strong relations that bind the GCC countries, and contribute to the consolidation of security and stability in the region and the well-being of its people. During the meeting, we reviewed the two initiatives of the UAE aimed at enhancing the online presence of the GCC countries, namely the top-level domain (.GCC) initiative to preserve and enhance the Gulf identity, and the GCC portal initiative to meet the aspirations of the GCC citizens. We are keen to activate the portal in line with international best practices on the one hand, and to enhance the level of the GCC countries e-presence on the other.”
The meeting discussed the initiative to develop the GCC portal, which was launched by the UAE. The discussions included the development of the portal using the UX Lab at the UAE Centre of Digital Innovation (CoDI), in addition to simplifying the steps to obtain information, developing the portal design in line with the latest international developments, activating e-participation on the portal and including participation topics such as e-advice, blogs, enriching the portal with success stories and Gulf experiences in digital transformation projects and digital governance services, and developing and updating digital content according to a joint GCC mechanism .
The meeting led to the approval of the feasibility study for the GCC top-level project submitted by the UAE. The study has taken into account the global developments and the requirements of "ICANN" in the registration of the domain, focusing on the possibility of investment in the .GCC domain. The project aims to create a generic top-level domain on the Internet that represents and strengthens the Gulf identity in the field of information technology, contributes to the development and dissemination of GCC websites, offers new options to the GCC Internet community, and supports online innovation.
The meeting also discussed the Secretariat's memo regarding the MoM of the 16th Meeting of The GCC Committee of National Centers for Computer Emergency Response. The discussions included a review of the Executive Plan for the GCC Cybersecurity and Safety Strategy, an update on the “IP Reputation” system developed by the UAE, the data leakage protection service, sharing of information and methods of cybersecurity, and new cybersecurity newsletters.
During the meeting, the MoM of the Public Key Infrastructure Working Group meeting was reviewed, which included determining the requirements and action plan necessary for the use of digital certificates, setting the coordination mechanism between the GCC national centers of digital certification, compatibility of e-signature systems and standards among the GCC countries, and the trust lists approved for digital certification service providers. The UAE gave a video presentation that reviewed the list of trusts for digital authentication providers within the country, and the services that the list will provide to regulate and increase the reliability of electronic transactions.
The meeting discussed the outcomes of the first meeting of the Unified Software and Hardware Procurement Team. It focused on reviewing the experiences of the GCC countries in the areas of general framework agreements and the need to benefit from the services associated with the framework agreements, such as increasing the number of consultancy hours and free training courses, reducing the operational cost and localizing the services provided. Additionally, it discussed the investment revenues of the framework agreements and accompanying services. The participating members thanked the United Arab Emirates for sharing the names of the programs used to measure the actual consumption of products and services.
The meeting also discussed the integration of the common e-services in the GCC countries through the GCC e-government network on a unified platform to be defined in each of the GCC countries, and the addition of the agreed e-services links on the GCC e-government portal. They also discussed the system of identity verification in the GCC countries, the service of establishment and management of commercial activities owned by GCC nationals, the service of navigating through e-portals, the exchange of traffic violations in the GCC countries, and the retirement and pension services in the GCC countries.