Abu Dhabi, 16 March 2013 (WAM) - Abu Dhabi will tomorrow play host to the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Conference under the auspices of Lt. General H.H Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha?far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, will open the conference, which will be held at the Armed Forces Officers Club, is organized by the GIS Security Center at Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Center (ADSIC).

Welcoming the participants, Al Sha?far underscored the important role played by geospatial solutions and open geospatial information to meet the local, regional and global obligations of the UAE, in general, and those of the Ministry, in particular.

Major General Ahmad Nasser Al Raisi, Director General of Central Operations at Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, indicated that the five-day conference will discuss the standards, specifications and international open Geospatial standards, as well as the joint action of geographic information systems; and best practices in this field. The Conference will be attended by prestigious elite of international and local experts, and will tackle a number of technical issues related to geographic information systems and geospatial data; which will be discussed by competent working groups.

Major General Al Raisi emphasized the importance of this milestone event, to pursue the process of consolidating and adopting open geospatial standards, as well as implementing these standards in geotechnical projects. This is achieved in cooperation with the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) on the federal level, and the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC).

He added: "The GIS Security Center at the Ministry of Interior is at the core of the UAE?s initiative to achieve that goal. We are strongly committed to provide the necessary support and resources to achieve this global vision, with the kind support and directives of the higher police leadership, to achieve the UAE government 2030 vision, and the Abu Dhabi 2021 vision"For his part, Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, Director General of ADSIC, indicated that this conference reunites decision-makers, experts and concerned parties such as governments, institutions and international organizations from around the world under one roof, to keep abreast of the latest developments in Geospatial standards. He pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Center (ADSIC) endeavors, through the geospatial data program, to enhance capacity-building, and achieve the Abu Dhabi Government?s vision, of a geospatial-oriented society. Concluding, he underscored that the Government is adopting an excellence methodology to achieve the higher leadership?s vision, by developing government services, raising the level of government performance, and building national capacity, with international-best standards and techniques.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.