RIYADH, 25 March — Deputy Commerce Minister Dr. Fawaz Al-Alami yesterday highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to establish e-government.
Addressing a press conference here, he said Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, will open a conference on e-government in Riyadh on April 21.
The four-day conference, to be held in cooperation with Riyadh Exhibition Company, will shed light on the concept of e-government, he said.
Alami, who is chairman of the standing committee on e-government and the conference’s organizing committee, said the crown prince’s participation in the conference reflects the Saudi leadership’s keenness on implementing e-government.
He said the conference will center on three major topics — the concept of e-government; global experience in e-government; and the national plan.
“The Saudi government has given utmost importance to this issue as it will facilitate government services and expedite official procedures,” the deputy minister said.
The committee working for the implementation of e-government comprises representatives from the ministries of commerce, finance and national economy, interior, information, and posts, telegraphs and telephones, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, and the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.
He said the plan includes creation of the necessary infrastructure, development of systems to complete all banking operations electronically, enactment of laws to protect e-commerce, identifying requirements to ensure security of information, creating an electronic system for government purchases, creation of a marketing site on the Internet, taking steps to enhance public awareness on e-commerce and e-government, and training a national cadre to meet the growing requirement in the fields of e-commerce and e-government.
Alami highlighted the private sector’s role in promoting e-commerce in the country, taking benefit from the government’s support in this respect. He said a consultative panel comprising a number of businessmen has been formed to support the project.
“Saudi Arabia is the world’s fifth largest country in using computers as the annual growth reached 32 percent in 2000,” Alami said
The Kingdom is also the largest computer market in the Middle East.
as the number of computers in the country reached 223,187 in the year 2000. “The Kingdom has also gained first place in the number of Internet subscribers in the Arab world,” he pointed out.
