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Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Countries in Digital Services

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
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Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Countries in Digital Services

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP

Saudi Arabia ranked first in the field of digital services availability and development, according to the Government Electronic and Mobile Services (GEMS) Maturity Index, which is issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) annually since 2019.

A statement by ESCWA said that GEMS measures performance in 84 government services that are essential to individuals in the various phases of their lives, and to businesses from their establishment through their operations to their closure. The Index is computed based on three pillars: availability and development of services; use of services and user satisfaction; and government efforts to publicize services.

In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ahmed Al-Suwaiyan, Governor of the Saudi Digital Government Authority, pointed to the importance of unlimited support by the government and joint work among public agencies to provide distinguished digital services to citizens and enhance the competitiveness of the business sector.

He added that the great support provided by the Saudi government to the digital system had the greatest impact on the Kingdom’s superiority in the most important global indicators.

This success comes as a culmination of integration and joint work between government agencies to achieve government digital transformation as one of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, Al-Suwaiyan underlined.

Eng. Muhammad Muzaffar, a member of the National Commercial Committee in the Federation of Saudi Chambers, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia is keen to develop digital services, adding that the new achievement would further attract foreign investments.

Saudi Arabia has been ranked second globally among the G20 countries in the Digital Riser Report for the year 2021 issued by the European Center for Digital Competitiveness.

The Kingdom also topped the first group of the highest leading and innovative countries in the areas of providing government services and interacting with citizens according to the government technology report (GovTech) issued by the World Bank.

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Member states have received a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, the report said, adding that the new date could still change.
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The European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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