The agreement includes the implementation of a number of strategic projects in the countries of the region, with a total value of $200 million

Abu Dhabi.. The Council of Arab Economic Unity of the League of Arab States signed a cooperation agreement with IDEMIA – the leading global institution in the field of security solutions and digital identity systems – with the aim of supporting and implementing a number of strategic and vital projects in the Arab countries, which would contribute to Improving the competitive capabilities of Arab economies, and enhancing their integration into the global economy.

IDEMIA is one of the leading organizations in the field of advanced security systems, which operates in more than 180 countries, and the European Union is one of its major contributors.

The agreement signed between the Council of Arab Economic Unity and IDEMIA comes within the steps of the Executive Council of the “Arab Vision for the Digital Economy”, which was announced in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2018, as the agreement is set to support cooperation between the two sides in a number of The initiatives stipulated by the “Arab Vision” in the areas of digital transformation; These include: digital identity services, e-government, e-commerce, banking services, and advanced biometric security systems.

The total value of the projects targeted to be implemented in cooperation with IDEMIA is estimated at $200 million, and it is expected that these projects will have a significant economic return in supporting innovation and digital business models and environments in the public and private sectors in the countries of the region.

It is worth noting that the League of Arab States and the Council of Arab Economic Unity had announced a qualitative initiative in December 2018, when the Arab vision for the digital economy was launched from the city of Abu Dhabi – under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The strategy included five main axes and twenty strategic objectives, and more than 50 programs emerged from them, based on infrastructure development, support for innovation and digital government transformation, empowering the private sector, and deepening and strengthening services directed to the Arab citizen.

The importance of the “Arab Vision” is that it calls for rebuilding and developing the economic systems in the Arab region on sustainable development foundations, benefiting from the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and supporting joint action efforts to promote and develop the digital economy in the Arab world.

Harvard University, Cairo University, international organizations, and experts from the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Economic Cooperation Organization, and the European Union participated in preparing and developing the Arab vision for the digital economy.