The 2008 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) UN eGovernment Survey has ranked the UAE in fifth position in terms of transactional services, just behind developed countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the US.

The survey also placed the UAE 32nd among 192 UN Member States in the 2008 eGovernment Readiness Index, while the country achieved the 12th position in the web measurement index, which rated the online presence of national websites and selected ministries, including health, education, welfare, labour and finance, said an official spokesman.

The UAE also has the highest web measure index in the region, which reaffirms the country’s commitment to setting the highest standards of eGovernance excellence.

The survey also referred to the UAE Ministry of Labour’s website in particular as an excellent example of a ‘one-stop-shop,’ where visitors can avail of transactional features such as payment by credit card, online submission of forms and permits, and the creation of personal accounts. The site responds to emails and online inquiries within a specific period of time and is one of the few sites to incorporate an electronic signature.
 
“These major achievements are a result of the hard work and dedication of all the eGovernment entities in the UAE, and I commend the efforts of the IT team in all ministries, especially the Ministry of Labour, for contributing towards the robustness of UAE’s eGovernance framework. While the UAE can be proud of its achievement, we should not get complacent, since there is still a lot to be achieved in this domain,” said eServices director, Dubai eGovernment, Salem Al Shair.

“The UAE’s strong performance in global e-readiness reflects how the country is effectively using the Internet as an instrument for economic growth and human development, mainly through improvements in telecommunications infrastructure, human resources, and legal and policy framework. The results will serve us well in preparing further strategies for ICT development by focusing on how to improve the distribution and utilization of online services,” he added.

Dubai eGovernment recently announced that the various initiatives it implemented in 2007 have contributed to the exponential growth of online services offered to citizens, residents and visitors of Dubai.

Dubai eGovernment has revealed that over 1,700 online services have been launched in different government departments, or a phenomenal 81 per cent digital adoption rate of the more than 2,300 government services in Dubai.

Dubai eGovernment's exceptional performance has been in line with the vision of vice president and prime minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to speed up the digital transformation of government services in the emirate.

Key highlights of 2007 also include an ISO 9001:2000 quality certification and an award for being the 'Best eGovernment Programme in the Middle East' during the Leaders in Dubai Summit. – TradeArabia News Service