Kuwait, April 27, 2016: His Excellency Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, has honored Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce at the Smart Government Excellence Awards for winning first prize in the “best smartphone application” category in the Arab Region.
 
The award was presented at the 7th edition of the Smart Government Excellence Awards that was organized in the city of Kuwait under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs in the State of Kuwait, and in cooperation with the Central Agency for Information Technology and the pan Arab Excellence Awards Academy.
 
The award highlights the Ministry’s success in providing smart and innovative services that contribute to the development of Qatar’s business sector in line with its vision to build a diversified economy and a self-sustaining private sector within the framework of a competitive business environment. The mobile phone application, which was launched in mid-2015 last year according to the highest international standards, is regarded as one of the most innovative projects launched by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, and is continuously developed and improved.
 
The mobile phone application offers a unique combination of smart e-services to investors, businessmen and consumers. These vital services include: submitting requests for the issuance and renewal of commercial licenses in a limited amount of time as well as uploading all required documents through the application. The service reduces the time and effort required by investors and contributes to the promotion of efficiency and productivity given that the Ministry schedules a date for site inspection less than 24 hours upon submitting the online application.
 
The mobile phone application also allows users to request or renew commercial registrations by filling out the required data online and processing the payment through the application to obtain a printable copy of the commercial registration through e-mail.
 
The mobile phone application also allows investors in Qatar and abroad to start-up companies, search for a commercial name or activity, submit complaints, and complete procedures for obtaining supply services.
 
Users can also access various international reports and economic indicators and stay up to date with the ministry’s latest news recall and closure campaigns as well as the latest economic developments on a local, regional and global level.
 
The Smart Government Excellence Awards is a competition designed to assess and highlight the efforts of Arab governments and official institutions that have established a presence online and on social media platforms to provide services to citizens and residents.
 
The competition also aims to encourage Arab governments to launch new websites, social networking accounts and smart applications across the Arab world as well as to draw on the global digital revolution to promote sustainable development in the Arab countries and enhancing joint Arab action.
 
Last February, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce received the Best Mobile-Government Service Award across the Arab world in the economy and trade category in recognition of its mobile app on iPhone and android. The award was presented during the 4th edition of the World Government Summit held in Dubai, UAE under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.