Dubai, 25th March 2015

The GCC e-Government Ministerial Committee successfully launched the e-Government Portal for the GCC countries, which was developed by the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) during its fourth meeting held in Doha on Tuesday 24th March.

The GCC e-Government Portal provides content in both Arabic and English and was designed in accordance with international standards and the new global practices and trends such as the promotion of e-participation and access to open government data. The portal offers information on e-government programs for GCC countries and provides direct links to e-services offered by the member state's portals. Moreover it provides a special section featuring the most important events and news in each country and updates related to the General Secretariat in addition to information about the Guidelines Strategy of the e-Government and its initiatives such as the GCC e-Government Conference and Exhibition Award among others.

The GCC e-Government Portal serves as an integrated and reliable source of information on various vital sectors in the GCC countries introducing the most important electronic services available in each country and how to use them. Launching this portal reflects the collaborative spirit and the great coordination between the different e-Government working teams across the GCC, which contributed to the completion of this innovative project in accordance with the latest international standards.

Providing services through electronic platforms is the first step towards accomplishing the process of transition into a smart government. The UAE has made a great stride towards achieving the comprehensive transformation process and providing public services through mobile platforms. These projects will have a positive impact on improving and facilitating the daily life transactions of dealers.

The GCC e-Government Portal includes a second phase that will feature the shared services, which will be agreed upon between Member States. These services aim to satisfy the needs of GCC citizens and residents and better serve the business sector including the Gulf companies and international companies.

Moreover, the meeting saw the launch of the GCC e-Government Network that aims to link e-government programs in GCC countries with a safe and reliable data network in order to enable and facilitate secure exchange of e-government services data in the fields of customs, health, education, traffic violations and other information between the relevant government entities in the GCC. This network also provides a link connecting national networks within the GCC countries.

Various mechanisms and tools were used to maintain the security, confidentiality and integrity of data sent from one country to another including Virtual Private Network (MPLS VPN), firewalls, and IPSEC VPN encryption method.

On the project's operational level, the network linking process of connecting main centers was completed, providing e-Government programs in GCC countries through the local service providers in each country linked to a regional provider. The link was implemented through more than one local service provider to ensure the permanence and reliability of the network. Video conferences were also activated as one of the services launched across the GCC unified network that aims to provide video conference meetings between e-government program employees and affiliates in the GCC for both regular and unscheduled meetings.

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About the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
TRA is building the core ICT regulatory framework for the UAE's burgeoning knowledge economy. ICT development underpins economic growth and social advancement, and is a critical pillar in the nation's broader 2021 Vision.

The TRA supports the UAE's ICT sector by safeguarding competition to protect the interests of subscribers, enhancing the readiness of e-services, encouraging investment, innovation and development, whilst facilitating a broader ecosystem for human capital development.

For more information about the TRA, please visit: www.tra.gov.ae.

This press release is for information purposes only and has been released on behalf of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

© Press Release 2015