EIDA stresses role in supporting e-government initiatives

His Excellency Dr. Engineer Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Director General of Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), the independent federal authority mandated with the Population Register and the National ID Card programme, has emphasised the importance of achieving the Authority’s strategic objectives, including the successful implementation of the digital identity project.

Presiding over a regular review meeting on the implementation process of the digital identity project, Dr. Al Khouri stressed the importance of providing all support and data for the Abu Dhabi Centre for e-Systems in order to improve the efficiency of the Abu Dhabi e-Gate by linking it to Emirates ID.

The meeting also discussed the scope of the digital identity initiative, progress achieved so far on the strategic project and its time line.

Dr Al Khouri highlighted EIDA’s role in supporting e-government initiatives explaining how the Authority will enhance the security environment in the UAE. He also stressed the need to co-operate with the departments involved in the e-government initiative and to implement an effective programme to link these departments with the electronic authentication centre in the Authority.

He called on government departments to join the digital identity project before the end of 2011 as part of forming strategic partnerships to support UAE’s development. He pointed to the importance of successful application of the project and its contribution in enhancing trust of individuals in the Authority’s systems while dealing with government departments. Such trust will promote use of e-services in the UAE and enrich the concept of a secure e- economy.

The meeting also discussed achievements in activating digital identity application across some government departments that have already linked their services to Emirates ID. The attendees were also briefed on service enhancements across EIDA data centers in the country.