5th E-Government Forum underway

KUWAIT: Minister Khaled Al-Roudhan speaks during the 5th E-Government Forum. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Nouf Expo, in collaboration with the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), is holding the 5th E-Government Forum from Nov 5 to 7, 2017 at the Arraya Ballroom of the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Kuwait City. The forum is focusing on the digital transformation that government agencies should undergo to be able to achieve the objective of the e-government program set by the government.

"E-government reduces human mistakes and decreases financial and administrative expenses. The government should make all the services electronic, especially after transferring many public institutions into the electronic mode," said Minister of Commerce and Industry and acting State Minister for Youth Affairs Khaled Al-Roudhan during the opening ceremony on Sunday.

According to him, the number of applications for founding companies has increased. "The number of projects has increased, in addition to the variety of licenses. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry provided facilities to be able to accept more applications in the coming period. More services will be added to the ministry's website soon," Roudhan said.

Information and communication technology is one of the most important tools of development, and is currently booming. "The slogan of this year's forum 'Digital Transformation' expresses change. We realize the challenges and obstacles facing those who work in this field in various public institutions. The Central Agency for Information Technology is in charge of leading this transformation on the state level connecting different bodies," he pointed out.

"The leadership should enforce the application of the e-government system. Furthermore, legal protection of the transformation process should be applied by the government, especially since it's a complete change that affects all state institutions. We look forward to improving public services of all institutions, which requires total cooperation of these institutions as they are interconnected," stressed Roudhan.

Changing journey

Qusai Al-Shatti, acting director general of CAIT, noted that the slogan of this forum expresses the changing journey that all institutions in both the public and private sectors should embark on in digitalizing their operations. "This is the only way to keep the institutions productive, improving and growing. It is a path that affects all departments, no matter what products or services they provide," he explained.

Yousef Al-Marzouq, Director General of Nouf Expo, stated that Kuwait has the necessary human and financial resources for the digital transformation. "International and local technology companies will always provide experiences and technologies to the government. Both individuals and companies aim to improve governmental services to relieve the pressure on the institutions and make paperwork faster anytime and anyplace," he also said.

Various local and international companies and institutions are participating in this forum. EGOV5 will discuss the basic characteristics of digital transformation, its requirements, its success factors, and the pitfalls or risks that need to be considered and mitigated along the way. Various workshops are being held during the three days of the forum.

By Nawara Fattahova