JEDDAH, 4 July — Businessmen in the Kingdom will soon be spared the trouble of carrying bundles of papers and queuing up for hours waiting for their turn to get documents attested at the local chamber of commerce. A new electronic system allowing the official authentication of documents through the Internet is expected to benefit thousands of businessmen across the country.
The E-attestation Service is being introduced by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry whose officials say the project will be launched on an experimental basis.
If proved successful judging by the response from businessmen, the service will be expanded to cover all types of attestations thus obviating the need for personally bringing documents for verification by chamber officials.
The chamber council described the system as fast and secure and said it would take the country a step further on the road to globalization.
Thousands of businessmen all over the Kingdom are expected to benefit from the new service which will gradually replace the current system.
The main beneficiaries of the new service will be leading chambers like Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry which has more than 24,300 subscribers.
Many of these are categorized as VIP, first and second class subscribers. Their number is on the rise at the expense of third and fourth class categories who form the bulk of subscribers amounting to around 20,000.
“The project is being implemented with the cooperation of an international firm and a local company, both of which are specialized in information technology. It calls for verifying the identity of the user who must be a chamber subscriber. The user is given a certificate authorizing him to sign the documents intended for attestation,” said a chamber official.
“Confidentiality is fully guaranteed and there is no possibility of unauthorized persons reading the contents of a document. The system is unique in that it confirms a document has indeed been dispatched,” the official added.
Other features of the project include facilities for exchanging information and making monetary and other transactions through the Internet.
Through its website “Saudichambers.org.sa” the chamber council provides information on the country and its economy with emphasis on Saudi exports and the prospect for investment.
