Under the patronage of General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology (MCICT), the 10th Bahrain International eGovernment Forum opened today.
The minister expressed his gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for utilising modern technology in serving society to improve the lives of citizens and provide decent livelihoods for all.
He commended the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for its initiatives that have contributed to developing government performance.
Bahrain established a strong infrastructure for the telecommunications sector, and the percentage of Internet users today has reached 100% among all segments and groups of society, he said.
Bahrain’s leading position in this area is clearly reflected in the comprehensive transformation of e-services and systems, the usage rate of which has reached 90%, he added.
The minister noted that the Government Plan (2023-2026) has encompassed digital transformation; driving initiatives, innovation and quality services in line with best global practices.
Technological development in the field of information and telecommunications, which is occurring at rapid rates, has imposed new concepts in the field of security, which requires going beyond the conventional practices, the minister said, noting that this required optimising economic, social and intellectual security.
Cybersecurity and information security have become some of the most important pillars of security, and for that reason the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology has formed a committee to probes the capabilities and applications of artificial intelligence, assessing over 160 areas of application, the minister said.
The minister underlined the committee’s goals to develop an ethical charter to regulate its work and development, fostering a societal culture that enhances dealing with artificial intelligence, thereby protecting vital and strategic interests.
Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla said that the government’s high technological readiness and comprehensive digital transformation have led to the launch of the first national strategy for the digital economy.
This strategy, involving all national institutions, will be implemented over the next five years, benefiting from the success of the interconnected services and systems provided through various channels, he added.
The minister congratulated entities winning Excellence Awards for their innovative contributions to e-government work, highlighting the importance of information and communications technology in national development.
Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive gave a presentation in which he highlighted the technological readiness in Bahrain.
He noted that Bahrain was one of the first countries to launch a national government network, providing the operational environment for more than 5,000 government systems and services and linking more than 45 government entities.
The Minister of Interior and MCICT Chairman presented awards to the winners of the eGovernment Excellence Award.
In the public and private sectors category, the award for best website from the government sector was won by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for its website Business Licensing System (SIJILAT). Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) and Benefit Company won the award from the private sector.
The Southern Governorate won the Best Practice in Electronic Participation Award from the public sector for the video call service. The award for the private sector went to the social media account (Localbh).
In the award for the best-integrated e-services, the University of Bahrain won from the public sector for the electronic admission service. From the private sector, the Bahrain Airport Services Company won for the “Sawaeed” project.
The traffic services application (eTraffic), presented by the General Directorate of Traffic at the Ministry of Interior, won the award for the best application for smart devices. From the private sector, this award was won by the Unipal application and Bahrain Islamic Bank for the (BiSB) application.
As for the award for the best work environment for digital innovation, it was won by the government sector by the Central Bank of Bahrain for the project “Central Bank of Bahrain Innovation Laboratory”, and from the private sector, STC Bahrain won for the project for the best work environment for digital innovation.
The award for the best use of artificial intelligence in the public sector was won by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy for its project to provide feedback analysis tools and the Nasser Center for Vocational Rehabilitation and Training for its green anode density prediction project. From the private sector, the award was won by the instant chat service project to introduce labour law, presented by INFINITEWARE Company. In the award for the best project for digital transformation, the “electronic referral system” project submitted by the Bahrain Defense Force and the “police wallet application” project submitted by the Ministry of Interior won. Kalam Telecommunications Company won the same award for its initiatives in enabling the company’s digital transformation.
Regarding the winning digital initiatives in the Individuals Sector category, the Best Digital Initiative Award was won by Mr. Salem Musafer for the initiative to create a system for predicting technical problems in infrastructure using artificial intelligence, Ms. Ibtisam Ali for the (Absher) application, and Ms. Asiya Ali Habib for the (Together to Vision) application. Better). The (MyBFA / BFA connect) initiative for effective communication between medical staff, patients and their families, presented by Mr. Saleh Kazem Abdullah, also won the award.
In the same context, the Interior Minister honoured the sponsors supporting the tenth edition of the Bahrain International e-Government Forum.
Then, the Interior Minister opened the COMEX 2023 Bahrain Technology Exhibition, which is being held for the first time in the Kingdom. It attracts several specialised exhibitors in the information and communications technology sector, including the pavilion of ministries and government agencies, which includes government digital initiatives and projects and the latest modern technologies that the Kingdom has adopted to improve government operations and systems and improve the quality of its services provided to citizens and residents. The exhibition also attracts an elite group of international technical institutions and companies, which provide the latest modern and innovative technical solutions, in addition to a pavilion dedicated to the latest technologies used in the banking sector.
Source: Bahrain News Agency