The 25th Conference of Smart Governments and Cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council honors the Council of Arab Economic Unity

 The organizers of the 25th Conference of Smart Governments and Cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council honored the Council of Arab Economic Unity for establishing the joint Arab strategic vision for the digital economy. Mr. Ali Al Kamali, General Manager of the conference organizing company, handed over the honorary award to His Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Mohamed Al Rabie, Secretary General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity, as an expression of those in charge of governments and smart cities of their appreciation for the efforts of the Council in issuing the first draft of the strategic vision.

The Council of Arab Economic Unity, as a continuation and follow-up to the work of the first conference on the Arab digital economy, which was held in Abu Dhabi last December, had issued the first draft of the joint Arab strategic vision for the digital economy. The draft contains the role of the digital economy as a catalyst for real economic development and its effects on economic growth, job creation, social welfare, political stability and improving Arab government performance, as well as achieving the 17 UN goals for sustainable development.

It also includes the framework, dimensions and analyzes of the Arab digital economy, in addition to the most important lessons learned and learned from successful models of global economies that have achieved outstanding successes in this field. The study highlighted 50 programs related to the global sustainable development goals and the most prominent influential economic sectors and their role in promoting political, social and economic stability in the Arab world and the digital inclusion of Arab societies

The study devoted an entire chapter on Arab and international partners and stakeholders and strategies for financing sustainable programs and measuring the results of their various applications supported by data and studies of the implementation of digitization processes and their effects on comprehensive Arab economic development. It also identified Arab and international funding bodies and Arab sovereign funds according to operational programs and studied time periods

Several Arab and international institutions and organizations participated in preparing and reviewing the first edition, including Cairo University, Harvard University, the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and a committee of 65 experts working in the field of digital transformation around the world.

His Excellency Ambassador Muhammad Muhammad Al-Rabee, Secretary-General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity, expressed his appreciation to all individuals, institutions and organizations that contributed to the preparation of the first draft. He also praised the role of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates, which was the first initiator to support the Arab strategic vision, and for hosting the work of the first conference on the Arab digital economy in Abu Dhabi, in addition to its follow-up to the work of the study. Ambassador Al-Rabee confirmed that the first version had been shared with Arab representatives and ambassadors.