The Emirates Identity Authority is set to add five more languages – Malayalam, Urdu, Tagalog, Russian and Mandarin - to its website, offering information and guidance on procedures.

This is in addition to the two languages already in place, Arabic and English, said a statement.

The decision to add new languages to its website was part of its efforts to make its services easier and more accessible to the various nationalities residing in the country, it said.

Abdulaziz Al Maamari, director of Government and Social Communication at the Emirates ID, said the decision came as a result of surveys and studies on the number and types of visitors to the website, the departments and services most frequently browsed and the queries and clarifications most sought.

“In the year 2014, nine millions visits from inside and outside the UAE happened on the website, by people speaking around ten languages.”

The addition of the new languages would allow the customers to learn in their own languages about the procedures for registration in the population register, issuance, renewal and replacement of ID cards, necessary documents for getting the services rendered and the fee for each service, said Al Maamari.

“The idea behind the initiative is to make our website and services more accessible and customer-friendly,” he said.
 
“This initiative came from our efforts to achieve the fourth objective in our Strategic Plan 2014-2016, which aimed at guaranteeing total satisfaction for our customers. We are introducing the new languages also as part of our corporate governance framework which focusses on creativity and innovation in all aspects of organisational work. There are large numbers of people who are not proficient in Arabic and English and we thought it was important to reach out to these segments with information in languages they are comfortable with,” Al Maamari pointed out.
 
The Emirates ID had already brought about a quantum leap in its communication efforts with its customers through the 14 channels of communication, including the website, social media platforms, and the round-the-clock call centre, he said.

“This new initiative, we hope, will bring us further close to our customers,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service