IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Al-Elm Information Security noted that over 50 000 re-entry visas were issued electronically through the new 'Muqeem' programme.

The CEO of Al-Elm Information Security, Dr. Khaled Ben Abdul Azeez Al-Gonaim, 'The number of residents subscribing to the service exceeded 400 000 to date. This reflects the great satisfaction among the owners of private organizations for this service and its importance in helping them to facilitate the process of their sponsored employees.'

Read more: 50 000 electronic re-entry visas issued from Saudi Arabia

While Al Medinah Al Munawwara may not be the economic or the political centre of the Kingdom, the city has become famous for the vision of its regional government. Initiated by then governor of Al Medinah His Royal Highness Prince Muqrin Bin Adbul Aziz Al Saud, the drive to transform Al Medinah into a smart city. Underpinning this drive towards the digital economy is one company, or, more correctly, one group of companies. Prior to February’s Smart Cities Forum 2007 in Riyadh, CIO Arabia met with Integrated Visions’ (IV) founder and visionary Alawi Baharoon to discuss where the project is headed, how IV has overcome initial stumbling blocks, gained the buy-in of Medinah’s citizens, government, and businesses, as well as where IV itself is headed over the coming years as Baharoon looks to bring the expertise developed in Medinah to bear as IV looks to play a central role in transforming the Kingdom into a digital economy.

Read more: Saudi Arabia: Integrated Visions in Al Medinah – the Kingdom’s original Smart City

The Jeddah Municipality is organizing on Nov. 14 a forum on the role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in municipality services.

GIS is an information system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analyzing, sharing and displaying geographic information. The technology, according to Abdullatif Al-Harthi, head of the GIS center at the Jeddah Municipality, can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, asset management, environmental impact assessment, urban planning, cartography, criminology, history, sales, marketing and logistics.

Read more: Saudi Arabia: Jeddah Forum to Focus on GIS Technology

Saudi telecom's is seen internally as a growth sector, with the market open to competition from rival operators and the end of the monopoly that Saudi Telecom Company (STC) long enjoyed. But the Saudi Arabian networks infrastructure remains a thorny issue that requires swift action.

In the sixth Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007, recently issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Saudi Arabia was dropped from the list of the most advanced countries in IT and telecoms. The kingdom also received a poor ranking within the American Brown University e-government index and the British EIU index.

Read more: Saudi Arabia's network readiness falls behind