MARRAKESH, (Pakistan Point News - 21st Oct, 2019) The UAE Government has participated in the 19th Annual Conference of the Arab Organisation for Administrative Development, ARADO, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Held on 17th and 18th October, this year's conference theme was entitled, 'Requirements for Smart Infrastructure Localisation in Arab Countries to Achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Conference, held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, discussed the future and roles of governments in Arab countries and aimed to develop and enhance the Arab economies’ competitiveness amid the international challenges and the requirements of the times we live in.
The conference aimed to encourage Arab governments to use their potentials and capabilities to strengthen the Arab economies during the next ten years. The event saw the participation of experts and specialists from 14 Arab countries, in addition to a number of international organisations.
On the sidelines of the conference, Abdulla bin Touq, Secretary-General of the UAE Cabinet, stressed on "the importance of investing in future technologies and modern techniques to achieve the growth and sustainability sought by our Arab societies and governments alike."
"Various experiences, including some promising Arab experiences, have proven that the development of technology-based mechanisms and solutions and the outputs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are the key to bringing about a positive and effective change in the lives of members of the society in a manner that serves the development process in our Arab region and the rest of the world," he added.
The UAE Cabinet Secretary-General went on to note that "in the UAE government we seek to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by modern technologies and advanced science and to contribute effectively to the global efforts in order to develop smart modern technology-based business models. In this way we will help enhancing the position of the UAE government as an effective and influential player in shaping the future of the region and the rest of the world".
"In the UAE we believe that technology is a key tool for improving society, supporting skills, and ensuring better living conditions for all. People are at the centre of all our technological progress and at the heart of all government plans and initiatives", he continued.
Bin Touq also stressed that the present juncture requires Arab governments to evolve alongside the rapid progress in modern technologies and their ensuing results. He invited these governments to use technology to serve their citizens and improve the quality of their lives and the services provided to them. He also noted the importance of joining efforts in the Arab governments at various levels to use technology in a thoughtful and appropriate way to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In a speech at the conference, he highlighted the efforts of the UAE government to support the sustainable development goals, including the UAE successfully eliminating poverty and hunger by 100 percent, and was ranked first in the Arab world and 12th globally among the most competitive countries in the World Digital Competitiveness Index in 2019. The UAE is now looking forward to remaining among the safest and the most secure countries in the world in 2021, Bin Touq explained.
He also reviewed a number of initiatives and programmes launched by the UAE government of the UAE, where modern and futuristic technologies were invested in to serve the development process and improve of government work. These initiatives and programmes included the "RegLab", which aims to create a reliable and transparent legislative environment, introduce new legislation or develop existing legislation and regulate the work of advanced technologies products and applications, bringing benefits to all humankind. In addition to the partnership of the UAE with the World Economic Forum to develop future skills to build jobs and the labor market for more than 12 new sectors that stem from the fourth industrial revolution.
For his part, Dr. Saeed Mohammed Al Ghafli, Assistant Under-Secretary for Federal National Council Affairs at the MFNCA stated that the 19th Annual ARADO Conference is an ideal opportunity to interact, exchange views and information on the latest developments and best practices in optimising the use of smart applications to achieve the goals of the sustainable development.
He added, "This high-level gathering also provides us with a platform to showcase our expertise and highlight the UAE's achievements in developing an integrated infrastructure that keeps pace with the latest developments and enables us to take advantage of the technological advancement to serve the development of society and the progress of the UAE in all respects. This can be achieved by raising the bar of government work and providing an example to follow in the quality of UAE government services both regionally and internationally."
"Through this conference," Dr. Al Ghafli continued, "we presented a working paper on the electronic voting system in the elections of the Federal National Council, which has been very successful in facilitating the voting process for voters and contributed to the success of the electoral process thanks to the great development in the infrastructure of the telecommunication system and information technology. This is only one of many examples that countries can use to provide easy services that can contribute to the happiness of society".
The 19th Annual Conference of the Arab Administrative Development Organisation revolves around five major themes that meet with the vision and objectives of the 2030 plans for sustainable development in Arab countries.
