Kuwait Times, Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023 | Sha'ban 29, 1444
Kuwait seeks to draw a roadmap for digital future, says Al-Nahedh
Kuwait:
Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of
State for Communications and Information Technology Affairs Mazen Al-Nahedh
stressed the importance of supporting the partnership between the government of
Kuwait and international information technology companies and adopting
applications in line with the requirements of the New Kuwait vision.
Delivering a speech at the opening of the second ‘Smart Government Summit’ in
Kuwait hosted by Microsoft in partnership with the Central Agency for
Information Technology (CAIT) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its founding
in the country, Al-Nahedh said Monday that the summit aims to accelerate the
adoption of Smart technologies to promote digital government transformation and
launch several initiatives with government agencies.
“We are meeting today to draw a roadmap for the digital future of Kuwait. We
have always supported the partnership between the Kuwait government and
international information technology companies which resulted in the
establishment and development of many technological infrastructure projects and
targeted initiatives for Kuwait to reach an economy and society based on
knowledge and smart technology such as the cloud, artificial intelligence, data
and robots and others,” Al-Nahedh said.
He added, “We always strive for transformation towards a comprehensive
digitization.” He expressed his happiness at leading the country’s ambition in
this path and expanding at the regional and global levels to achieve its vision
of developing human capital capabilities in the field of digital economy and
within the framework of its efforts to implement a comprehensive digital
transformation process.
He explained that the world is changing very quickly and that digital
transformation is part of this change, stressing that the information technology
will continue to accelerate the wheel of transformation through access and the
establishment of supportive infrastructures that keep pace with modern
technology.
He pointed out that the digital transformation process increases investment
returns and contributes to promoting a diversified and sustainable national
economy, leading to building a society based on knowledge economy to achieve
prosperity and wellbeing for all.
Acting Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology Dr
Ammar Al-Husseini said that Kuwait has made significant steps towards smart
transformation by adopting smart and advanced technologies to contribute to
enhancing the competitiveness of government institutions, raising its efficiency
and increasing its productivity. This also has helped accelerate the digital
transformation agenda which is a fundamental pillar of Kuwait Vision 2035.
Digital transformation
Al-Husseini said during the past few months, the CAIT in partnership with
Microsoft, launched important initiatives to support the acceleration of the
digital transformation agenda in the government sector, including Center of
Excellence for Digital Productivity to enhance productivity and institutional
effectiveness through optimization of digital technologies, take advantage of
Microsoft 365 programs and the application ‘The Hub’, the digital platform that
provides a new experience for exchanging information and request for digital
services within government agencies.
Ihab Fouda, general manager of the government sector at Microsoft Middle East
and Africa, affirmed in a similar speech the company’s commitment to the Kuwaiti
government, institutions and people by providing safe technology and smart
solutions to enable institutions and companies in various sectors.
Fouda said that the activities of the summit witnessed the official launch of
the joint cooperation between the Kuwait’s Ministry of Oil and Microsoft as a
digital environmental initiative which aims to create a joint dialogue platform
to discuss and crystallize the roadmap for a digital project and an advanced and
a sustainable oil sector program which will help preserve petroleum wealth and
maintain environmental sustainability through artificial intelligence (AI)
technology.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil Sheikh Dr Nimr Fahd Al-Malik Al-Sabah said
in his speech that the launch of the environmental digital initiative is of
great importance in encouraging the use of technology and artificial
intelligence to accelerate digital transformation in the oil sector and enhance
Kuwait’s path towards sustainable development of the petroleum sector. Sheikh
Nimr Al-Sabah stressed the need to develop a roadmap for sustainability and
identify the necessary steps for the oil sector in particular and the
government.