The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) hosted, in three webinars, delegations from the Competitiveness Office of Abu Dhabi (COAD), Dubai Government (Smart Dubai), and Digital Sharjah Office, to review the United Nations e-Government Survey 2020, its key results, and the role of local governments in enhancing the UAE e-Government in order to improve results.
These webinars come within the framework of TRA’s supervisory role in the achievement of the national Online Services Index (OSI), in accordance with the United Nations e-Government Survey, in strategic partnership with the relevant government entities.
These webinars are part a series of sessions initiated by the OSI Executive Team to exchange experiences with local electronic/smart/digital governments with the aim of highlighting the most prominent developments in the indicators included in the survey for 2020, such as the e-Government Development Index (EGDI), the digital participation index and the local services index (smart cities).
During the three sessions, the speakers addressed the UN survey, the results of the main index, the sub-indicators, and the advanced results achieved by the UAE, which reflect the great efforts made by all local and federal government entities to advance the UAE rank in EGDI.
The sessions also discussed the role of local governments in enhancing e-government in the country, especially as the United Nations focuses on the development of smart cities during the survey process, in addition to the availability of local smart services, particularly in education, health and transportation sectors.
Commenting on these webinars, H.E. Salem Al Housani, Acting Deputy Director General for Information & E-Government Sector, said: “The UAE achievements in the United Nations e-Government Survey are greatly praised, thanks to hard work and close cooperation between all local and federal government entities. We have been able to develop e-Government performance and provide hundreds of online services, which placed the UAE among the best countries in the main index and sub-indicators.”
H.E. Al Housani highlighted that the results achieved motivate all local and federal government entities to continue their efforts to achieve further progress. He added: “The methods of evaluating e-governments change constantly with the development of technologies and work methods. In the next session, the focus will be greater on local governments, smart cities, and the extent of application of emerging technologies in the country's vital sectors such as the education, health and transportation, which will make the role of local governments greater in obtaining the best results. The measures taken to limit the effects of COVID-19 will also have a big role in the results, and we are proud that we are among the leading countries in taking the best measures in this regard, such as the application of remote work, distance education, and providing additional smart services.”
The sessions included a detailed explanation of the results of the main index and sub-indicators, and the main areas of focus during the evaluation process. The sessions also addressed ways to improve performance in the field of smart services, especially at the local government level.
The United Arab Emirates ranked first in the Arab Region and in Western Asia, and 8th globally in OSI issued by the United Nations within the overall EGDI. It progressed to the 16th rank after ranking 17th in the previous session. In the same survey, the UAE ranked 7th the Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII).
In its current session, the survey focuses on the role of governments in serving the UN SDGs and slogan “Leaving no one behind”, in addition to the role of digital transformation programs in bridging the divide between segments of society in various fields. The survey addressed the programs of governments around the world in engaging the public in developing services, policies and programs that serve everyone’s interests.
