From E-Government to Good Governance and from Good Governance to Development... The Arab world in the global E-Government readiness report 2005 Arab E-government

ABU DHABI, May 10 (KUNA) -- Kuwaiti Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Dr. Maasouma Al-Mubarak on Wednesday called for cooperation between GCC countries in the field of e-governments.

Upon finalizing their meetings, the ministers responsible for civil service authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries formed a technical work team to handle the ministers' recommendations to the GCC secretariat office to issue and implement necessary resolutions.

Al-Mubarak told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that GCC countries should coordinate among each other to benefit from the expertise of developed countries and consultative firms.

She added that GCC governments should also benefit from the Malaysian and Singaporean expertise in the field of electronic governments, noting that e-governments are highly important in the gulf to improve performance and facilitate processes for all sides.

The minister praised the role of Kuwait and its implementation of the e-government, noting the positive steps reached by civil services, ministry of health, civil information, and employment.

She also praised the positive atmosphere of the ministerial meeting, led by United Arab Emirates Minister of Public Sector and Development Sultan Al-Mansuri, noting that the meeting discussed a number of topics concerned with improving civil services.

Al-Mubarak added that participants recommended increasing cooperation in the field of civil services by establishing electronic links and a GCC electronic gateway, and agreed on creating a guiding manual for civil services to evaluate the quality of civil services in the gulf countries.

Participants also agreed on creating a plan to improve human resources in the gulf region and benefit from its capabilities in the development process. (end) bmj.