EIDA meets Armed Forces representatives to discuss national ID card registration

The meeting was conducted with armed forces personnel based in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Al Ain.

"This meeting was aimed at discussing and finding suitable solutions for any possible obstacles, such as the actual filling out of the registration forms, that have been encountered during the pre-registration process for armed forces personnel," Saeed Al Dhaheri, Director General of EIDA said.

"Our project is similar to many new programs that may encounter minor issues as the implementation phase begins. At this point the role of EIDA is to simplify this process and solve any problems at the outset in order to obtain the best results," he added.

Al Dhaheri also noted that the project has successfully passed its trial phase, in which approximately 15,000 personnel of the Ministry of Interior and Armed Forces were registered at the Al Mushrif registration center. EIDA also launched a trial phase at the Dubai registration center and another at Al Ain, as well as continuing to develop registration centers in each of the emirates until all of the planned 14 centers are opened.

"We are trying to anticipate possible problems in the registration of large groups, such as overcrowding of the centers at specific times of the day and overbooked appointment times. Accordingly, we are actively considering enhancement of the coordination process between these centers and the military units involved," Al Dhaheri said.

Al Dhaheri also said EIDA is trying to raise awareness of the proper forms as well as supporting documents that must be brought to registration centres by registrants. Filling out the forms before going to one of the EIDA centres facilitates the registration process.

EIDA has been given responsibility for introducing a modern Population Register and ID Card system, which will further the country's efforts towards the provision of a secure environment for citizens and expatriate residents of the UAE. It is designed to keep personal identities secured from fraudulent or unauthorized use, support government planning services, enhance economic growth and place the UAE in the front ranks of the information technology age.