IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

In a statement Rasha Abdulaziz al Roumi, Chairperson/Managing Director, Kuwait Airways stated that the technological achievement at the level of international and regional establishments was an honour for staff of the national carrier as well as a great recognition. She pointed out that Kuwait Airways website was assessed by specialised committees for proficiency and creative elements. Kuwait Airways had possessed the technical and commercial characteristics that enabled it to win the certificate of “Golden Distinction”.

The move also aims to boost government performance and empower citizens with computer skills to take advantage of today's technologies and online services.

Kuwait won three prizes at the 4th GCC e-Government Award, Conference and Exhibition 2015, it was learned here on Wednesday.

One of the prizes went to Kuwait's National Assembly General Secretariat for having the best public interaction with its legislative portal which is called Take an Active Part in Legislation.

The Kuwait Knowledge Economy Forum Feb 7-8 is focused on the theme “Government Knowledge”. Some would say that such a theme is an oxymoron. However, since I am a 3rd generation technocrat, I continue to hope that “knowledge” and “government” can co-exist. On the other hand, as I consider the work that I did for the Kuwait government nearly 24 years ago, bringing the earliest eGovernment prototypes to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) and to the Council of Ministers Government Services (CMGS), I must confess I am struggling with cynicism.

In 1994-95 I was part of a United National Development Program (UNDP) team with a mandate to support the democratization of Kuwait government. I was privileged to deliver the earliest eGovernment system prototypes in Kuwait, intended to enhance the government services offered to the people and businesses in Kuwait. The first of those two system prototypes was a Contact Center for the MOCI; the Client Inquiry Services system. That initiative was the brainchild of Dr Waleed Abdulwahab who is now with Islamic Development Bank.

Minister of State honoured KFH in recognition of its sponsorship, contributions

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has participated for the second year in a row in the third E-government forum themed “Information Technology Management” as part of its keenness to contribute in supporting E-government programs and discuss the future of effective and secure government services.

KFH participation was through its International Turnkey Systems (ITS) subsidiary that shared its experiences in the field of software, computers and IT solutions.

As the modern states are growingly reliant on information technology to provide better and timely services, Kuwait is intensifying efforts to build its information society, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said.

Building information society paves the way for significant development in different aspects of modern life and helps states secure decent life for their citizenry, so Kuwait is forging ahead with its plans for the development of the information sector, Sheikh Jaber said in a speech read out on his behalf by Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and the Chairman of the Central Agency for Information Technology Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah at the inaugural session of the Third E-government Forum (EGOV3 Forum).

Kuwait has banned financial institutions from cryptocurrency as it refused to acknowledge or recognize bitcoin as legitimate currency.

According to reports in the local media, Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Kuwait have asked banking sector and companies under its regulatory purview not to go ahead with any sort of transactions or trading in bitcoin. This is surprising as neither of the two regulatory bodies have any authority over punishing trade – presumably among everyday adopters and retail investors – since they do not recognize the cryptocurrency.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, Minister of Information and Communication and Chairman of the Central Agency for Information Technology Salem Al-Othaina announced, "This conference is being held at the time when information and communications security has changed from a technical issue of IT to a national security issue that is addressed with the greatest importance by political leaders. The United States and European Union have established special departments for information and communications security and for countering electronic crimes and terror. Many states envisage having such departments in the future.

In a keynote speech at the 2nd Arab Conference on Information and Communications, Al-Utheina, who doubles as acting minister of social affairs and labor, said political, social and economic changes worldwide show that information security turns from just a technological matter into a national security issue.

Seventh e-Government Forum underway, under the Prime Minister’s patronage

NoufEXPO launched the seventh e-Government Forum and its accompanying technology exhibition under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on Tuesday under the slogan ‘Modern trends of smart government’ in the Al-Baraka Ballroom of Crowne Plaza hotel.

Kuwait is making tangible progress towards embracing a full-fledged e-system to be activated across government bodies and institutions, said a Kuwaiti official on Sunday.

In remarks to KUNA on the sidelines of the "2017 GITEX Technology Week" conference and exhibition, Deputy Director General of Kuwait's Central Agency for Information Technology Qusai Al-Shatti spoke of earnest efforts to establish a reliable database for numerical computation.

KUNA's Deputy Director-General for the Editorial Sector and Editor-in-Chief Saad Al-Ali on Monday said information technology (IT) is a pillar of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, adding that Kuwait has a long path in the field.

Al-Ali made the statement to KUNA on the sidelines of the three-day first Arab forum on e-government themed the "Road to sustainable development," that started in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh Sunday.

The Kuwait Official Portal (KGO) now offers more than 280 eServices and 850 content services after a revamp from Diyar United Co.

Noted as a Kuwait-headquartered ICT specialist, Diyar United created and has maintained the Kuwait Government Online Portal since 2008. The portal allows citizens, business leaders, visitors and government agencies to electronically access many government services.

The new IT systems will allow PIFSS to easily and cost-effectively conduct its business and will pave the way for its future integration with other e-Government solutions in the country.

Kuwait is one of the pioneering countries around the world in the e-Government system, and has so far realized steady development in the field of communications, a Kuwaiti expert affirmed Thursday.

Currently, all Kuwaiti ministries operate through the e-Gate system, via which education, health, commerce, and personal data services are provided electronically to citizens, Mona Yousef Sahar, an expert at the Ministry of Communications, stated to KUNA.

Kuwait on Wednesday submitted an idea over how to go about compiling reports on the progress of establishing an e-government (eGOV) system in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The Kuwaiti proposal calls for more interaction among concerned bodies in the GCC as member states work on setting up an integrated eGOV system, said Dr. Walid Al-Hasawi, an advisor at the Gulf state's Central Agency for Information Technology.

Over the past decade, Kuwait has steadily ramped up efforts to digitize government services, with a notable push beginning in 2016. Key entities such as the ministry of commerce and industry, Kuwait Municipality and more recently the launch of the central government app Sahel have all played significant roles in this transition. Kuwait Times spoke to several IT experts involved in this digital shift to gain deeper insight into the challenges and progress of the country’s e-government strategy.

A major contributor to Kuwait’s digital transformation is Naser Al-Mutawa, former undersecretary for technical support and planning at the ministry of commerce. Al-Mutawa emphasized that the primary challenges are not technical, but rather regulatory and bureaucratic. “It’s never technical by any chance,” he said. “We’re dealing with the legacy of decades of paperwork and massive physical archives, which makes digitization a daunting task.”

The ministry said in a press statement that the applicants should be from the citizens of the GCC states who have experience in the field of the subjectmatter, besides filling in a form containing the applicant's personal data along with the applicant's commitment to the contest's conditions and getting along with the liaison officer accredited from the cultural attache of every GCC state.

Updating the information systems is one of the major objectives of the ministry, said Dr. Ali Al-Fodari, the advisor of the undersecretary of the ministry, in a statement on the occasion of his participation along with other officials of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health at the e-government services conference that got underway here yesterday -- also with participation of officials from various Kuwaiti departments.