Bahrain hosts UN Public Administration Network Steering Committee Meeting

The Steering Committee is comprised of senior officials from various eGovernment and educational bodies such as the United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and the Dubai School of Business.

The Committee members represented several Arab countries - including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE - which were selected due to their advanced experience in the field of eGovernment and their contribution to setting the strategies and plans to enable Arab countries become eGovernment ready.

The Committee was formed from a larger committee that included the UN and all Arab countries which met in Lebanon in September 2008 during which they nominated Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt for membership. During the meeting that took place at the Capital Club at the Bahrain Financial Harbor several important issues were discussed including a regular meeting schedule and a mechanism to ensure that resolutions are executed properly and in a timely fashion as per the committee's priorities.

eGA CEO Mr. Mohammed Al Qaed thanked fellow Arab nations who attended the Forum and the UNPAN steering committee meeting in Bahrain, noting that the meeting achieved its goal of creating a common mechanism for coordination and the exchange of expertise and knowledge. In addition, the meeting identified best practices to effectively implement eGovernment programs in the Arab region, as well as collectively construct a shared information platform to be used by specialists in this field.

"The eGovernment Authority in Bahrain is fully ready to share its experience in the area of eGovernment and offer government eServices to all countries as per the highest global standards and quality levels for the benefit of their respective populations," he said.

According to Al Qaed, it was decided in the meeting to divide all Arab countries into groups with which the countries present at the meeting will coordinate and share knowledge and expertise in the field of eGovernment.

In addition, a massive electronic platform will be created by the committee which will contain all eGovernment strategies and plans from several countries, as well as research reports and case studies and other content which facilitates knowledge exchange. Al Qaed remarked that this platform will be comprehensive and invaluable, especially for countries that are not able to afford the high fees charged by specialized consultancies to perform this type of work.

Mr. Richard Kerby, Senior Inter-Regional Adviser at UNDESA, who has unparalleled expertise in providing policy advice and carrying out technical cooperation missions to Governments, praised Bahrain's leadership and commitment to the UNPAN initiatives -in particular e-Government readiness in raising the standards of ICT in the region. Commenting on the successful outcome of the meeting Mr. Kerby said:

"We are looking forward to cooperation from all Arab member nations to further support the United Nations initiatives in e-Government, under the capable leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain."

"We discussed several points in our meeting today," Kerby added, "such as setting the committee's priorities and putting together a strategy for the countries to achieve success in all aspects of eGovernment such as infrastructure and eServices."

In a statement following the meeting, Advisor to the Minister of Telecommunications in Jordan Mr. Hassan Hourani said, "we are looking to benefit from the entire region's experience in eGovernment on the administrative and executive levels". He noted that the UN's involvement gives it a global dimension and further increases the importance and value of the meeting.

"Attendees discussed the topic of eGovernment-related eContent and how to enrich it and best utilize the aggregate regional expertise in this area, such as building capabilities in government organizations who are involved in executing eGovernment programs," said Hourani. He also stressed the importance of coming out of this meeting with a collective framework of cooperation between fellow Arab nations, especially with some countries further advanced in eGovernment than others.

Hourani further added that there is no one perfect example of eGovernment, but that any eGovernment program's success can be measured in terms of the eServices offered to the general public and the availability of easily-accessible delivery channels.

The Advisor to the Jordanian Minister of Telecommunications also urged Arab nations to implement eGovernment programs by reforming the private sector and re-engineering the ways in which it offers its services, as well as establishing the appropriate organizational frameworks for eGovernment implementation.

Speaking on Bahrain's presence in the committee, Hourani said that the Kingdom of Bahrain has certainly taken giant strides forward in eGovernment implementation across various disciplines which other nations can study and benefit from.