Federal and Dubai e-Government departments meet to discuss future cooperation

The meeting was also attended by senior officials from e-Company, the specialized business entity of Etisalat, which is acting as the strategic partner to federal e-Government to meet their entire Information Communication Technology requirements.

'The collaboration with Dubai e-Government is the start of a fully-fledged cooperation between the federal government and all the seven Emirates to implement e-Government,' said Dr. Mohamed Emir Mavani, Federal e-Government Project Manager at the Ministry of Finance and Industry.

'Dubai e-Government has established itself as a leading entity in implementing e-Services in the region. These meetings will enable us to fully leverage their expertise in this area and maximize our benefit from their experience. We also aim to work closely together in the implementation of some projects, in particular the ambitious and crucial e-Expat project,' he added.

Mahmood Al Bastaki, Director e-Services at Dubai e-Government, said that Dubai e-Government would provide its full support to the federal UAE e-Government because it is a milestone project that would improve the role of the federal government and enhance the relationship between the government and citizens.

Early 2005, the federal e-Government will organize a workshop to harmonize all e-Government standards across the seven emirates and to discuss open standard in relation to the implementation of the e-Government project across the UAE. High government officials as well as members of e-Government projects from across the UAE will attend the workshop.

'e-Services based upon interoperable standards and adoption of international best practices are crucial as they bring necessary cost effectiveness and user-friendliness for the eventual success of e-Government projects,' said Ahmad Bin Ghannam, e-Government Programme Manager at eCompany.

The e-Government project is just one of four initiatives being driven by MOFI with a view to creating greater efficiency and effectiveness in government operations. Total Quality Management, Performance-based Budgeting and Executive training conducted in conjunction with Harvard University, are also being implemented as part of the government's high performance programme.