The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) hosted a delegation from the e-Government Program (Yesser) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two-day visit aimed at exploring possibilities of developing a strategy to review the e-government procedures legislation and provisions, in addition to discussing an initiative to ensure that government entities respond to customers’ observations, and its provisions.
During the visit, TRA team presented the most important achievements of the UAE in the field of digital transformation and customer service such as the UAE Pass, which allows customers to easily access the services of Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Police, Dubai Courts, Department of Land and Property in Dubai, Health Authority, and Dubai Civil Defense, via smart phone through online sign-on.
TRA team also presented Sharik.ae, which includes hundreds of e-consultations launched by government entities to communicate with the public for the aim of developing services and policies, which reflect on the customer happiness and achieve the highest goals of the government. The team also presented the National Customer Relation Management Program, which aims at achieving customer satisfaction, simplifying procedures and improving performance levels of the federal government employees and services. Moreover, the e-Government team presented a detailed explanation on the e-Participation Index and how the UAE has advanced its rank in the index.
On this visit, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, said: “The UAE-Saudi relations have been witnessing rapid development under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. This has reflected in all aspects of life in the two brotherly countries, as we see an increased coordination and collaboration at the highest levels to take decisions that would improve economic and social relations between the two countries.”
H.E. Al Mansoori emphasized that the Saudi delegation visit aimed at establishing a common ground to support both sides accelerate the implementation of e-government transactions. He added: “Today, the world is racing against time to reach advanced stages of digital transformation. A transformation that would change the shape and content of transactions, transforming them from traditional paperwork to faster and more efficient digital channels. The Saudi delegation visit aims also to exchange views and ideas on the future of e-government transactions, and the efficient ways to activate and adopt them to reach sustainable digital economy, and to achieve highest rates of prosperity and happiness for members of the UAE and Saudi communities.”
The two sides discussed an initiative to develop a strategy to review the e-government transactions legislation. The discussion topics included the review of the e-government transaction legislation by studying model laws and international experiences in the fields of e-transactions, e-commerce, digital signatures and IDs. The discussions also included the areas covered by the law such as e-commerce, government transactions, e-payment, e-health, electronic records and contracts, e-communications methods for e-records, e-signature, digital identity, entities responsible for regulating e-transactions, and the legislating entities of electronic commerce and transactions.
Furthermore, the two sides discussed an initiative to ensure that government entities respond to the comments of their customers, enhance the people’s interaction and respond to their comments by providing timely answers and satisfactory solutions to the concerned parties, in addition to introducing the national plan and strategy to ensure that government entities interact with their customers to serve the government goals in achieving the happiness of the people and the community. The two sides also discussed initiatives and projects developed to improve the response of the government entities to their customers’ observations, how government entities deal with these observations, the level of beneficiaries’ satisfaction with the response of government entities, and the weaknesses that have been improved.
TRA has carried out a number of workshops, visits and meetings aimed at enhancing regional and international cooperation in the field of accreditation and digital signatures, reaching results that meet the interests of different parties and reaching a common understanding on how to achieve international recognition of digital signatures, which will accelerate the implementation of national digital infrastructure plans and the digital transformation process, and provide opportunities for UAE citizens and residents to benefit from unique educational and professional opportunities of the digital age, such as data science, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity.