ABU DHABI, 30th October, 2013 (WAM) -- The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has hosted a two day workshop in partnership with Google, addressing a group of leading figures from the ICT sector about the ongoing development around the U.A.E.'s m-Government initiative.

The workshop was led by Samir El Bahaie, Regional Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Google MENA and a group of technical experts. Meshal bin Hussain, aeCERT Operations Manager and a member of the m-Government Committee, TRA, moderated further discussions. Mobile applications trends and innovations, transferring from e-Government to m-Government platforms through specific frameworks and models, performance and functional testing including safety were some of the topics addressed during the event.

"The TRA is committed to engage and bring on board as many parties as possible. Gaining multi-faceted feedback and widespread support appears as a cornerstone of the initiative?s success when it comes to delivering the vision of our leaders," said Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Deputy Director-General for Information and e-Government Sector and Head of the m-Government Committee.

"Smartphones contribute to the creation of new and exciting opportunities to promote public participation and personal services. In this workshop, we discussed the innovative strategies and best practices available to enhance government services on smartphone platforms as we look to open new information gateways and avenues for public interaction. We look forward to working with all our partners to reinforce and promote the m-Government culture and expand the scope of its applications in various fields," said Samir Bahaie, Regional Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Google MENA.

The workshop targeted managers of government services, strategic decision-makers and leaders of the telecommunications and ICT sector. The audience present was briefed on the full cycle of innovative management techniques used to generate creative ideas and safety procedures. Through the series of workshops, The Centre of Excellence in m-Government sought to raise public awareness in order to create an integrated system of m-Government policies and encourage the participation in the process of universities and community developers.

The U.A.E. currently features the highest smartphone penetration levels globally, at 73.8%, while mobile penetration stays steady at 180% or almost two mobile devices per inhabitant.

Taking stock of these figures, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, recently launched "The U.A.E. m-Government Initiative" as a shining example of the U.A.E. Government?s responsive operations, dedication to public satisfaction and innovative ability. By enabling the creation of new applications and interactive programmes by 2015, m-Government will extend access to existing services, allow the delivery of new services and encourage citizen participation through dialogue, effectively sustaining socio-economic growth by contributing to the building of the U.A.E. digital society.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.