IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

With the news to have the smart card compulsory by next month, Bahrain is just one step away from a completely digitised economy. The law making smart card mandatory will make the Kingdom ahead of many countries in the region to switch over to the new digital economy. This smart card technology is much safer in use and there are minimal chances of frauds in financial transactions as well as in day-to-day affairs.

The director of technical resources and head of Smart Card project at the Kingdom's Central Informatic Organisation (CIO), Elham Mohammed Saleh, says switching over to the smart card technology is a step forward to achieving excellence in this highly specialised segment of the cyber age.

Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa and Head of the Higher Committee for Information Technology and Telecommunications, inaugurated today, Bab Al Bahrain Electronic website. Present at the inaugural ceremony were Deputy Premier and Minister of Transportation, Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Premier's Court, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Municipalities and Agricultural affairs, Ali Saleh Al Saleh, Interior Minister, Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Education Minister, Dr. Majid Al Nuaimi, State Minister and President of the National Oil and Gas Authority, Dr. Abdulhossein Mirza, Minister of Social Development, Dr. Fatma Al Blushi, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs and President of the Central Informatics Organization, Shaikh Ahmed bin Atiyat-allah Al Khalifa. Also present were representatives from the Central Informatics Organization, Batelco Board Chairman, Price Waterhouse, journalists, media people and guests.

Bahrain's government moved into the hi-tech age yesterday with the launch of Bab Al Bahrain - an electronic website.

It will link all government ministries and help speed up services to citizens via the Internet.

Central Informatics Organisation president Shaikh Ahmed bin Attiyatalla Al Khalifa said the e-government gate is the by-product of long years of hard work and non-stop planning to prepare crucial infrastructure.

Bahrain's e-government project yesterday took centre stage as Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired a meeting of the ICT Supreme Committee at Gudaibiya Palace.

Pricewater House gave a detailed presentation, highlighting the project's multi-faceted applications in both the public and private sectors.