MANAMA — Participants in the "Virtual Bahrain" conference recommended the generalization of Bahrain's experience related to the advanced ICT sector, the eGovernment portal, services and payment applications, at the regional level and the world. They noted that this experience empowered Bahrain to overcome the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and secure the continuation remotely of business, education, and various aspects of public life.

At the conclusion of the conference on Wednesday, the participants displayed their satisfaction with the progress created by Bahrain in the field of transition towards a digital economy. They praised the increase of economic activities that use digital technology as main production factors through a modern information and data network that depends on the effectiveness of ICT.

The participants stressed the success of the "Virtual Bahrain 2020" conference in establishing broad horizons for the development of the performance in vital sectors such as education, health, trade, and electronic security.

This was discussed through eight working sessions during which 39 experts from Bahrain, the region, and the world spoke, and viewed by 500 participants from diverse countries. They also stressed the significance of capitalizing on this success in continuing to hold this event on an annual basis and expanding its fields.

Dr. Nasser Fouad, head of the Egyptian Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology and a member of the Board of Directors of Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Cairo University, said at the conclusion of the conference that experts of ICT around the world view the Kingdom of Bahrain as a model for a successful state in digital transformation.

“Kingdom of Bahrain must pursue its endeavors to rely on modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of things and cloud computing, and to accelerate the building of infrastructure for the digital economy, in addition to promoting high-quality development in the field of technology and the digital economy,” Dr. Fouad added.

Ubaydli Ubaydli, chairman of the Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH), said that the "Virtual Bahrain" conference succeeded in gathering most of the experts from diverse sectors under one platform, including the government, private and civil sectors, to discuss how to enhance joint cooperation to overcome the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to build on the successes that have been achieved as a sustainable approach.

Ahmed Al Hujairi, the CEO of "WorkSmart" company for events management, the organizer of the conference, expressed his gratitude to the sponsor of the conference, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, chief executive of the Information & eGovernment Authority, and all the sponsors, supporters, exhibitors, speakers, and participants.

He said that the number of the experts and the depth of discussions and benefits gained, all indicate the significance of this event and doubles the responsibility to maintain holding this conference annually.

“The conference online platform will be kept open for three months to make the contents of the sessions available for anyone interested in benefiting from the valuable discussion. All the conference recommendations will be arranged and formulated as a reference for all government and private agencies seeking to get acquainted with expert opinions in the field of developing their work digitally,” Al Hujairi said. – SG