Arab Administrative Development Ministers Largest Gathering Discusses the Role of Digital Transformation in Shaping the Future of Government Administration

Within the Arab Government Administration Forum, organized as part of the World Government Summit 2023, in partnership with the Arab Organization for Administrative Development in the League of Arab States, Arab administrative development ministers’ meeting discussed the efforts exerted to accelerate digital transformation in the Arab region and its importance in shaping the future of government administration.

Twenty-two ministers responsible for government development, administrative development and civil service in the Arab states participated in that meeting, in addition to Dr. Nasser Al Hatlan Al Qahtani, Director General of the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO).

The meeting comes as part of efforts that aim to enhance Arab coordination and exchange of expertise on issues that contribute to enhancing administrative development at the level of Arab governments.

Her Excellency, Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and Future, Vice President of the World Government Summit, confirmed that the ministerial meeting is a platform that brings together ministers concerned with administrative development in Arab country, with a view to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Arab administrative development and discuss ways to enhance cooperation towards benefitting from future opportunities in government sector. HE Al Roumi pointed out that the meeting is an opportunity for Arab ministers and officials to communicate with their counterpart officials and international experts participating in the World Government Summit.

She explained that digital transformation has become an important element in enhancing governments’ competitiveness and development, as well as a tool for achieving quantum leaps in the performance of institutions.

“New technologies are re-changing the roles and functions of governments to suit future trends. Today, we need to utilize technology in a prompt and effective manner to design coherent and flexible digital governments, making a positive impact on the joints of Arab government work and benefitting from the huge growth in the volume and diversity of data, so as to improve the quality of life in societies and the service of economic development”.

Her Excellency called for designing digital transformation programs with modern policies that suit the millennium generation to enhance the readiness of government systems and seize the opportunities offered by digitization, rendering it an essential part of government design for the future.

Nasser Al Hatlan: Major stop in the efforts exerted to develop government administration in the region

On his part, His Excellency Dr. Nasser Al Hatlan Al Qahtani, Director General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development, said, “The ministerial meeting of Arab administrative development ministers has become a major stop for the efforts exerted to develop government administration in the Arab region and empower it with tools and solutions for the future. The objective of that process is to create movement in the areas of administration and the development of government systems and services to serve the future of Arab societies. This confirms its pivotal role and positive impact in supporting Arab efforts to improve government performance, promote digital transformation and adopt new models of action”.

HE Al Qahtani explained that there is no development without a strong government apparatus, pointing out that accelerating digital transformation in Arab governments requires increasing investment in digital infrastructure, developing human skills and enhancing digital security and data protection.

Report of Government Administration in Arab World

Participants in the meeting discussed the outputs of the report titled “Government Administration Status in Arab World: Digital Transformation”, which was prepared by a group of Arab researchers in the fields of government development and digital transformation, with the aim of exploring digital transformation’s features and relying on advanced technology, along with their role in developing Arab government work and learning about the visions of government officials in the region in terms of the current situation and their aspirations for the future.

Dr. Ayman El Sherbiny, Head of Information and Communications Technology Policies at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), reviewed the Arab digital agenda that aims to unify the vision related to digital development at the Arab level and to set goals and objectives for each of the agenda’s themes, to be achieved in a specific period of time.

It is noteworthy that the World Government Summit for this year has organized the Arab Government Administration Forum in its second session, among more than twenty specialized forums witnessed by the largest session of the Summit since its launch ten years ago, in which more than 10 thousand senior government officials, experts, private sector leaders and specialists have participated in future fields, so as to anticipate and shape the features of future of governments.