Abu Dhabi and Fujairah sign cooperative agreement on Spatial Data Infrastructures

H.E. Rashid Lahej Al Mansoori, Director General of Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre and Dr. Ibrahim Saad Mohammed, Director of the Fujairah Statistics Centre, signed the MoU.

"One of the pillars of Abu Dhabi's ambitious Vision 2030 development plan is information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled growth. This is why we are integrating ICT concepts into all our growth initiatives, including municipal and urban planning and environmental management. SDI enables us to use technology to gain a better understanding of our geographical resources and how we can better monitor, manage and maintain them. By engaging in this partnership with the Fujairah Statistics Centre, we are keen to share experiences, insights and knowledge of relevant geospatial information services and technologies to achieve sustainable development in capacity building," said Rashid Lahej Al Mansoori.

Dr. Ibrahim Saad Mohammed said, "The MoU between Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre and the Fujairah Statistics Centre represents the first breakthrough in cooperation between both parties. We hope it would raise the level of future cooperation through the provision of services and the exchange of expertise and knowledge in the fields of spatial data, project development and related programs."

ADSIC is the government entity overseeing Abu Dhabi's IT agenda, while FSC is the administrator of Fujairah's statistical system and the official source of the emirate's statistical information.

Under the terms of the cooperative agreement, ADSIC and FSC will jointly share knowledge, guidance, experiences and expertise related to SDI and GIS. Both parties will also promote cooperation and engage in collaborative projects in fields of mutual interest as well as organize relevant workshops and training courses.

The Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) program, an initiative that facilitates the expedient sharing of geospatial data among government agencies and other key stakeholders, was launched in 2007. ADSIC continues to partner with other emirates and various parties at the national level to ensure that geospatial information is used efficiently and cooperatively for national development, capacity building and infrastructure development in all fields related to Spatial Information Technology and others.

Spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) - data infrastructures that are interconnected to flexibly and efficiently use spatial information - are currently used by governments around the world to link various agencies and departments to important sources of geospatial data. Prominent SDIs include the National Spatial Data Infrastructure in the US and the European Commission's INSPIRE.