Latest news with #UNE-GovernmentDevelopmentIndex
The Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Malaysia's digital transformation plans for 2030 unveiled
JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian government has outlined ambitious digital transformation plans, including the introduction of MyDigital ID as a secure verification method for online public services. Through GovTech, upgrades will extend to the judicial system, including the Syariah Court, as part of nationwide improvements. Civil servants will receive intensive training in digital skills and artificial intelligence to enhance the country's digital talent pool. Big data analytics will be leveraged to improve service delivery, with 95% of Federal Government services targeted to be fully online by 2030. Malaysia also aims to secure a top 20 position in the UN E-Government Development Index while maintaining its Category A status in the GovTech Maturity Index. The MADANI Rakyat programme will continue facilitating direct engagement between leaders and citizens, ensuring concerns are heard. Prime Minister engagement sessions with all state governments will proceed regardless of political affiliation. A new legal framework will strengthen the competitive ecosystem by addressing rent-seeking activities, alongside ongoing fiscal reforms to ensure targeted assistance reaches those most in need. - Bernama
Jordan News
29-07-2025
- Business
- Jordan News
Jordan and Syria Discuss Digital Cooperation - Jordan News
Jordan and Syria have held discussions on enhancing digital cooperation between the two countries during a meeting between Jordan's Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Sami Smeirat, and Syria's Minister of Communications and Technology, Abdul Salam Haykal, in Amman. اضافة اعلان During the official meeting, Smeirat and Haykal discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of telecommunications, information technology, and cybersecurity. Haykal visited the National Cyber Security Center, where he was briefed on its functions and ongoing operations. He is also scheduled to visit the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and meet with several private sector institutions. Haykal began his working visit to Jordan on Monday, heading an official delegation from the Syrian ministry, in response to an invitation extended by Minister Smeirat. In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Smeirat welcomed the Syrian minister and his delegation to Jordan, stating: "Over the next two days, we aim to hold productive meetings and strengthen cooperation and joint efforts between our two brotherly countries, particularly in the areas of digital transformation and telecommunications." In a post on LinkedIn, Minister Haykal noted that the visit is part of efforts to expand bilateral cooperation in communications, technology, and entrepreneurship, by learning from Jordan's 'advanced' experience in these sectors. It's worth noting that Jordan achieved an advanced ranking in the 2024 UN E-Government Development Index issued by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), climbing 11 spots to rank 89th out of 193 countries, compared to 100th in 2022. Additionally, Jordan ranked 33rd globally and 4th in the Arab world in terms of internet speed, with an average fixed internet speed of 142 Mbps in 2024.
Euronews
20-07-2025
- Business
- Euronews
The most powerful supercomputer in Central Asia launches in kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has entered the global race to build a supercomputer and has unveiled the most powerful one in Central Asia but the country's brain drain may hinder its ambitions. The supercomputer capable of about 2 exaflops speed, that is two quintillion (10^18) floating-point operations per second, has been launched at the supercomputer centre in the capital, Astana. It will be used for two purposes: One is to power the country's e-government services used more and more frequently by both the population and businesses. Another is the development of artificial intelligence (AI models) and engines. The government has prioritised these two projects for many years. Pressing the red button to activate the computer was President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has long championed the supercomputer, so much so that the whole AI drive in the country is considered to be his pet project. He decreed the Concept of the Development of AI in Kazakhstan until 2029. It stipulates that in four years from now, Kazakhstan will stand shoulder to shoulder with global leaders in AI technology. At the opening ceremony, he said that the launch was an important step in the digitalisation of the key spheres of economy and science and that it would create conditions for the development of the new advanced technologies and everyday life solutions. 'This is an image-boosting project. Kazakhstan presents itself in the international arena as a country which has access to modern technologies and knows how to use them,' said Boris Potapchuk, Senior Expert of the Data Center Infrastructure Service at Nazarbayev University. 'The use of AI cluster will enable a much more efficient and rational use of the state resources and the budget because it will assemble and centralise information systems that are at the moment dispersed in different places and institutions. That will make the data more accessible for the citizens and provide more reliable data storage and safety,' he added. The country did have problems with data safety. Only last month a large-scale data breach, potentially affecting the personal information of 16 million citizens, was discovered. The Ministry of Digital Development is investigating the incident and suggested there was a leak of names, individual identification numbers, birthdates, addresses, and phone numbers of citizens originating from private, non-governmental databases. Kazakhstan started its e-government strategy in 2004 and has since digitalised 92 per cent of the public services. The young generation is now using digital signatures and e-government services daily. Eight out of twenty million citizens have digital signatures. It ranks 24 out of 193 countries in the world in e-government services, according to the 2024 UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI). But the central focus of the government strategy is AI's development. In 2024, a draft law on AI was approved, and a Committee on AI was established to oversee the development of this field in the country. Kazakhstan's experts and politicians alike believe that without its own localised solutions and infrastructure, no country in the future will be successful, or even independent and sovereign. AI's language problem Thus, a supercomputer. The Astana super-computer is placed in a Tier III data centre where Kazakhstan's experts will have the opportunity to learn how to cool, stabilise, detect, and correct failures as well as provide cybersecurity. Some of those solutions that have been demonstrated at the opening are the Kazakh language model of AI (AlemLLM), the system of early detection of forest fires as well as solutions in medicine, construction and education. The model that attracted the most attention for years was the Kazakh language model in AI computing and utilisation. The AI experts warn that the heavy utilisation of AI in the future might make non-Western languages go extinct. Kazakhstan reacted by investing in a large language model (LLM) in the Kazakh language. There are already six supercomputers stationed at different universities in the country that are used for research and AI development. 'Prime example (why we needed the supercomputer) is the development of KazLLM. And as we develop further, we would need even greater computing power in order to do that. If you think that the basic model, which was developed by KazLLM largely text-based. So KazLLM was a basic model. We're now building on it,' said Waqar Ahmad, President of the Nazarbayev University. 'There are new systems which focus on voice recognition. There are new tools which use image processing and so on. And some of the new models which will be developed in this area are going to be all singing, all dancing models which use a text, which use sound, which use image, and so on,' he added. His colleague from the same university, Boris Potapchuk, is, however, not sure whether the computer will be used more for the development of new AI models and new services. 'The performance calculation methods given suggest that the solution will be used primarily for applying existing models and to a much lesser extent for training and developing new ones,' said Potapchuk, who added that venturing into the new realm of AI solutions is a big step that also poses big questions and reveals weaknesses. The brain drain 'We need to understand that a supercomputer of this kind requires constant modernisation and programming maintenance, and this is something that can only be entrusted with the highest profile specialists,' he said. 'If we're honest, Kazakhstan faces serious problems in this respect. It is not a secret that we face a big brain drain in all the fields of expertise, IT specialists leading the way. This is why Kazakhstan needs to attract and train its own experts as well as provide timely updating and modernisation of software and program code'. But he noted that bearing in mind that 'the state secrets confidential citizens' information will be stored on this computer, foreign experts will not be allowed, just like we don't allow them in the oil and gas industry or logistics,' said Potapchuk. But it is exactly this computer that is the pre-requisite for such training (although with limited access to data for the trainees) and the government insists that the launch of the first super-computer in he country is the most important, first step on a thousand-mile journey. The Minister in charge of digital transformation Zhaslan Madiyev, said that there is no doubt that digital development is already as crucial for national sovereignty as energy or food security is. 'The launch of the national super-computer centre is a strategic step in the development of the technological sovereignty of the country. We are creating the conditions for the development of the AI eco-system that will be able to compete on the global level,' said Madiyev.
Saudi Gazette
10-07-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
At Geneva World Summit, Saudi Arabia highlights great strides in digital leadership
Saudi Gazette report GENEVA — Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Acting Governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) Haytham AlOhali highlighted, while attending the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Saudi Arabia's great strides in digital leadership. Speaking before senior officials and experts representing 194 countries, he reaffirmed the Kingdom's dedication in supporting the summit's goals and enhancing the role of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in fostering inclusive and sustainable digital communities. AlOhali showcased Saudi Arabia's progress in advancing the ITU's strategic objectives, referencing key global indicators that reflect the Kingdom's success in the digital domain. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in the ICT Development Index issued by ITU, reflecting the ongoing development in the ICT sector. He noted that Saudi Arabia is now among the global leaders in providing digital government services and has achieved sixth place globally in the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI) in 2024. The deputy minister showcased the Kingdom's robust ICT infrastructure, as the digital economy reached $132 billion in 2024, representing 15 percent of the GDP and half of the region's digital economy. During the AI World Summit, AlOhali also participated in the "Crafting a well-balanced, pro-innovation regulatory framework" session, during which he emphasized that the foundation of a sustainable AI ecosystem lies in investing in human capital, infrastructure, and clear standards. "Today, we possess the largest technical workforce in the region, comprising over 381,000 specialists, with an annual growth rate of 8.8 percent compared to 350,000 in 2023. We began our journey in 2018 with an investment exceeding $25 billion in digital infrastructure in partnership with the private sector, which enabled the Kingdom to top the 2025 ICT Development Index," he said. AlOhali noted that Saudi Arabia is scaling up its investments through strategic alliances with major global AI companies, including AMD, AWS, and Qualcomm, in addition to a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to establish a 500MW data center. 'The launch of 'Humain' marks the creation of a regional and global AI powerhouse, backed by robust infrastructure and cloud computing. These initiatives reflect the Kingdom's strong commitment to fostering a thriving AI ecosystem and reinforcing its position as a global hub for sustainable innovation,' he added.
Sharjah 24
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sharjah 24
UAE ranks first globally in telecom infrastructure
The report highlights the UAE government's digital achievements across 12 key sectors, including the economy, finance, human resources, health, education, community development, culture and youth, immigration and foreign affairs, security and justice, infrastructure and energy, logistics, and the environment. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future in the UAE Government and Chair of the Committee, said digital readiness and transformation are central to the UAE leadership's vision, aiming to eliminate bureaucracy and enhance quality of life through technology. She noted the report tracks major digital achievements over the past year, showcasing the UAE's leadership in global competitiveness indices related to digital governance. It is intended to motivate further efforts to meet national digital goals. The report notes that the UAE ranked first globally in the UN indices for telecommunications infrastructure, digital government framework, digital content, and digital knowledge. It also topped the global 'Government AI Readiness Index 2024' by Oxford Insights, ranked third in government service delivery, and placed fourth in GovTech Maturity Index according to the World Bank. The country came in 11th in both the IMD's Digital Competitiveness Index and the UN E-Government Development Index. Digital government efforts resulted in significant efficiency gains, including AED368 billion saved for users and AED20 billion in government cost reductions. The transformation also saved 530 million labour hours and cut carbon emissions by 55.8 million tonnes. In 2024 alone, UAE federal government entities processed 173.7 million digital transactions. Federal websites attracted 131.5 million visits, and government apps were downloaded 26.3 million times. A total of 1,419 digital services are now offered, including 195 classified as priority. The satisfaction rate for digital services reached 91 percent, with more than 57 million users benefiting. There are currently 460 active digital transformation projects across federal agencies. In the digital government sector, 10.8 million individuals used the UAE Pass, which now connects to 15,000 services and supports 2.6 billion integrated digital transactions. In the economic sector, 5.2 million tax transactions were completed digitally, alongside 316,800 certificates of origin and 64,100 trademark registration and renewal requests. The finance sector processed 8,300 vendor registrations, 2,500 financial market employee accreditations, and 1,000 foreign investment fund renewals. Human resources saw 13.2 million work permit applications and 8 million employment contract transactions, with 1.2 million training hours delivered through the 'Jahiz' digital learning platform. In health, 2 million prescriptions were filled using robotic pharmacies, 1 million chest X-rays were conducted using artificial intelligence, and 437,900 remote medical consultations were held. The education sector delivered digital learning to 1.4 million individuals and processed 445,700 university course registrations. Community services answered 115,600 digital inquiries and completed 243,800 zakat and donation transactions, as well as 125,700 digital requests for fatwas and zakat calculations. In justice and security, 4.2 million traffic fine payments, 1.5 million vehicle registrations, and 417,800 criminal record certificate applications were processed digitally. The identity and residency sector handled 4.7 million Emirates ID renewals, 1.6 million private sector residency permit renewals, and 596,200 digital document attestations. Infrastructure and logistics services completed 5,900 housing assistance requests, issued 68,500 national transport permits, and granted 3,000 nuclear activity licenses. In the environmental sector, authorities processed 76,600 plant health certificates, 39,600 veterinary export certificates, and 59,900 agricultural product clearance transactions. In the culture sector, 2,400 library memberships were issued, 368 cultural artifacts were registered, and 162 event space rental requests were fulfilled.
