DUBAI – The Ministry of Culture and Information has won the Middle East Smart Government & Smart Cities Excellence Awards in the category “smart government services excellence award” presented by “The Middle EastExcellence Awards Institute”, Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday.

This took place during a ceremony held in Dubai recently on the sidelines of the deliberations of the 24th Conference on Smart Cities and Smart Government in GCC countries, with wide participation of leading officials and experts in government institutions, international organizations and business and information technology sectors at the regional and international levels.

The award was received by the Adviser and Supervisor General of the e-gate services Hani Al-Ghufaili and the Director of the E-services Center in the ministry Mu’adh Al-Muqbil. The award was handed over by the Japanese Consul General Akima Omizawa and Director General of Datamatix for Consultations and chairman of the organizing committee Ali Al-Kamali.

The award has come to crown the efforts exerted by the ministry which contributed to the development in providing e-services. These include clearing books electronically, apart from the system for the management of information licenses, the system for advertisements in Umm Al-Qura newspaper (the official gazette), conferences and events system and other e-services.

The award is presented annually to the best smart institutional transformation achievements and practices and initiatives for developing competitive services, among others.