"Evolving eGovernments and businesses can gain much from the experiences of developed countries and adopt the successful solutions created by leading information and communication technology (ICT) companies," said Salem Al-Shair, director of eServices, Dubai eGovernment.
Al-Shair recently inaugurated a seminar on 'Internet-based services for eGovernment and businesses in Dubai, hosted by the Embassy of Finland in association with Dubai eGovernment.
Al-Shair said countries that had a head start on eServices had reached high levels of eService delivery for their government departments, and it was in the interest of evolving governments to draw on that expertise for a smoother implementation of ICT projects.
Risto Rekola, Finnish ambassador, said, "The ICT sector is advanced in Finland and has
subsequently attracted international attention. With this in mind the campaign Digital Finland was launched last year in the UAE with the purpose of sharing Finland's experience in the Information Technology (IT) arena with the Gulf region."
The seminar highlighted the Finnish experience on eGovernment. Finland is among the worlds leading nations on ICT and a recognized information society who was rated thirteenth according to the United Nations worldwide benchmarking exercise for e-governance, which also rated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as twenty-first last September.
This has given rise to the emergence of numerous Finnish ICT companies specializing in highly advanced and innovative products and solutions. These companies, now grouped under an initiative called Digital Finland, are offering their expertise to the Gulf region.
The Dubai seminar focused on the benefits of Internet based services, how to build portals, market eServices to the people, security and the latest IT and eService developments in Finland between the government and municipalities.
Focusing on the Dubai eGovernment experience, Al-Shair commented: "The Dubai government's vision to emerge as the regional hub of the Digital Economy is being implemented with expertise from the world's leading players in ICT and eCommerce. The project was preceded by extensive groundwork that included visits to countries that were successfully migrating from manually delivered services to integrated eServices." — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
