IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Royal Court has launched a website to accept complaints against government departments and receive applications for medical assistance. According to a senior official, the website was set up on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

Khaled Al-Tuwaijri, head of the Royal Court and private secretary of King Abdullah, said the website was launched on Wednesday morning with the aim of facilitating contacts between the Royal Court and the citizens.

Citizens and expatriates alike have welcomed the Ministry of Interior (MoI) decision for a new version of the Absher portal, which will include electronic services provided to citizens and residents as well as news and events of all sectors of the ministry.

Mohammed Al-Asiri, a spokesman at the MoI’s National Information Center (NIC), on Thursday announced that the new version of the Absher portal will be launched within the next few weeks.

Energy City Development Company (ECDC), the owner and developer of King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), and Integrated Dawiyat (Dawiyat) — wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company — agreed to sign Heads of Terms for Dawiyat, in presence of King Salman Energy Park’s Chairman Dr. Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani to develop SPARK’s telecommunication infrastructure and associated smart services.

SPARK and Dawiyat will work together to deploy the fourth industrial revolution environment within SPARK by implementing advanced communication solutions to meet the industrial needs of the tenants.

"This will be a major step forward in implementing this e-Government initiative in Saudi Arabia and for the adoption of the infrastructure and the regulatory provisions in conformity with the e-Government Action Plan", said Mulla after singing the agreement. He pointed out that Yesser, within the framework of the MoU, would provide MOMRA with consultants and infrastructure services to implement the municipal information system called "Baladi".

Fleming Gulf's 2nd Annual Digital Grids And Smart Cities Forum, scheduled to take place between 05 - 06 May 2014 at the Riyadh Marriot Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has garnered immense response from technology pioneers who have turned reality into digital networks thereby enabling a contact-less and automated world. Baud Telecom Company (BTC) - acknowledged as one of the largest integrated ICT solution providers in the Middle East, who has played a primary role in the development of today's local and regional information and communication technology, headlines the forum with a presentation on ' Laying the critical foundation for Saudi Smart Cities & Smart Grids'. BTC is recognized for its ability to introduce and integrate the latest global communication advancements there by maintaining its position at the fore-front of implementable Information Communication Technologies

As pilgrims started arriving from all over the world for the annual Haj which is due in the first week of November, authorities and agencies concerned are fully geared to extend them the best services.

The authorities are making use of the latest means of technology to streamline the process of receiving and dispatching pilgrims to their residences.

While sustainability is the future, digital transformation is a key enabler supporting industries make the transition

For countries like Saudi Arabia and its fellow GCC members, addressing climate change has become an integral part of their economic development and diversification strategies.

This approach to growth, which centres on sustainability, draws on many approaches, most notably digital transformation. By deploying digital tools such as big data, analytics, the cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI), organisations can accomplish more while consuming less.

Diriyah is one of a number of extraordinary giga-projects funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Alfie Gibbs, Chief Business Development Officer at Diriyah Company, tells Inside Saudi why Diriyah will be a destination like no other for businesses seeking to thrive.

Q: Could you start by telling us about your role as Chief Business Development Officer at Diriyah Company and what your day-to-day responsibilities entail?

Prince Muqrin made the comments in a speech during a ceremony to mark the Saudi e-Government Achievement Awards. He said that the move to electronic systems would help accelerate the country’s development.

Going smart or transforming to e-government in the days of the Internet and communication networks is a dream most of the governments in the region are chasing with different degrees of success.

A survey on the Internet, which began early this year and was still going on, showed that 115 out of 242 people believed that it could not be rated more than “acceptable,” they said.

A number of the people surveyed believed that the project needed further development in order to be effective. According to the survey, 49 people said the electronic government was good.

More than 360 officials, representatives and experts from about 210 Saudi government agencies met in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss important aspects of the initiative, said Ali bin Saleh Al-Soma, director general of the Kingdom's e-government program (Yesser).

“The second stage of Yesser was launched after this high-profile workshop on Wednesday discussed the whole range of issues involved in implementing the initiative,” said Al-Soma.

A week earlier, I had a text message informing me that my request has been received at Jeddah “Reception and E-Services Center.” And yesterday, a second SMS arrived to inform me that my file has arrived at the Interior Ministry in Riyadh and provided me with a reference number, a website and free 800 number to track its progress.

"The system links electronically both of MoH and DGP to share the electronic health certificate information for the purposes of iqama (work permit) issuance and renewal," said Muhammed Al-Yumni, supervisor general of the IT department at the Ministry of Health, at a joint press conference with the General Directorate of Passports at the ministry in Riyadh.

King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and the Saudi Association for Health Informatics with the support of several other partners are sponsoring the three-day conference.

The purpose of the e-health event is to bring together both health care providers and information technologists to empower the advancements in the delivery, quality and continuity of health care. The conference will provide many opportunities for interaction and it will also promote the national electronic health initiative launched by the Ministry of Health.

Spelling out the latest achievements of the ministry in the field of e-health, Abdullah Al-Wehaibi, adviser to the minister of health and general supervisor of information and communications technology at the ministry, said here Wednesday that the ministry has been processing 85 electronic projects to assist patients and their relatives to get the best of health services throughout the Kingdom.

The commissioning of the e-portal was held at the ministry premises in the presence of the deputy ministers of health and senior officials.

“The launch is a significant landmark in the march toward e-government,” Al-Rabeeah said, explaining that the new portal will help people with all the necessary information in the field of health care in the Kingdom.

“Enterprise architecture and virtualization are the main focus of our second national action plan. These will play a key role and assist government authorities in e-transformation,” he said.

The Ministry of Labor has launched an electronic service to issue visas for expatriate workers on Musaned, in an effort to employ technology to speed up and facilitate procedures. This measure also helps to decrease paperwork and allows visas to be issued electronically in a transparent manner.

Other government bodies have supported this move, announcing the end of registering and receiving written application in labor offices.

“The national monitoring program will help health authorities to keep an eye on infectious diseases as and when they are reported from any part of the Kingdom and help detect epidemics,” Dr. Khalid Al-Marghalani, MoH spokesman, said in a statement to the Saudi Gazette, Sunday.

The program, which is part of a scheme to promote the preventive health medicine, will also cover immunization of citizens and residents as well as the storage of vaccines and registering the follow-up date, he said.