After two years of preparation and planning, the Department of Information and e-Government, Government of Sharjah, is ready to unveil the e-Government portal www.sharjah.ae.

The portal, to be launched on October 5, will offer information on Sharjah eGovernment and proposed eServices in the Emirate of Sharjah. Initially, the portal will offer only information, but in the next phase, 14 e-Services from 7 Sharjah departments will be offered through the portal, and more will be added over the next few months.

“It is a matter of great pride for us to unveil the e-Government portal, as it represents Sharjah’s entry into the world of e-Governance and e-Services,” stated Mubarak Belaswad Mubarak, director General of the Department of Information and e-Government and head of the e-Government Committee in Sharjah.

The e-Government Committee of Sharjah, which has been working directly under the Executive Council, has put together a five-year plan that aims to increase the number of eServices offered through the portal to more than 400 services by 2014.

“The portal has been designed along best practices from leading e-governments, including Singapore,” said Mubarak.

“We will soon be signing a MoU with Singapore e-Government to exchange expertise and experiences.”

“A readiness report has been circulated, and all departments have been issued guidelines and standards to be followed when they migrate to online systems,” said Mubarak.

“Various departments are now busy preparing to automate their services, in keeping with the goal of Sharjah Government to provide most services online through the new and advanced portalm” he added.-TradeArabia News Service