The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) celebrated the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day ​(WTISD), which comes this year under the theme “Accelerating digital transformation in challenging times”, through a virtual conference featuring a selection of leading entities and global experts, who discussed the acceleration of digital transformation, role of the ICT infrastructure and preparations to overcome the crisis.

The conference began with a welcoming speech delivered by Eng. Saif Bin Ghalaita, Executive Director of Technology Development Affairs Department at TDRA, during which he welcomed the attendees, saying: “I am pleased to join you in celebrating WTISD, an event that comes at a turning point in history. The pandemic has come while the world moves actively towards implementing the United Nations Development Goals, confirming to us the urgent need to promote the principles of sustainability and address the digital divide, as it has a role to play in saving the lives of millions of people and ensuring the continuity of life under all circumstances and during emergencies.“

Eng. Bin Ghalaita emphasized that the ITU has been, to this day, at the forefront of humanity's achievement of these noble goals, adding: “Today, despite the difficult times the world has been going through recently, we are closer to achieving the goals we seek. The role of AI-assisted ICT has been established through real-life experience, and it has been proven to the world that such technologies can be used to change many of the usual ways of work, education and socializing without compromising basic human needs. We in the UAE are proud of our experience in this context, thanks to the robust infrastructure of the telecommunications sector, the early attention of our wise leadership to digital transformation at all levels, and the climate of cooperation and partnership between various sectors, we have succeeded since the onset of the pandemic in rapidly transitioning to remote work, distance learning, government service delivery through digital platforms, and ensuring support for various segments of users to access all such services, as well as buying and selling on digital commerce platforms.

The conference included a message by H.E. Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the ITU, in which he spoke about the importance and symbolism of the WTISD, and touched upon the major role of the telecommunications sector in overcoming the global crisis that afflicted the world last year.

Participants stressed the importance of the government-private partnership in development, exploiting the potential of the ICT sector, and realizing UAE's goals in digital transformation and sustainable development, as the private sector has become part of UAE's digital transformation journey. There is a constant coordination between TDRA and all local governments regarding all national projects and initiatives being worked on.

Participants indicated the increased trust of UAE community members in the digital services and solutions provided by various public and private sector entities, the ability of the community to deal with digital transformation outcomes, and the easy use of latest technologies through the successful, seamless transition to remote working and distance learning, and the use of smart, digital services and online shopping apps.

During the conference, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Majid Al Futtaim Group and Careem touched on the crucial role digital transformation plays in difficult times, such as those witnessed and still witnessed by the world to this day, where digital transformation has contributed to maintaining most vital processes while mitigating human, financial and economic losses.

A number of leading ICT sector companies featured in the event i.e. Etisalat, Du, Huawei, Ericsson and Deloitte, also discussed the role of the ICT infrastructure in overcoming crises hitting different parts of the world, citing what came to pass last year, as the evolved ICT infrastructure helped in finding quick and practical alternatives to maintain normalcy of life, with this infrastructure also playing a significant role in the recovery process.

The UAE, represented by TDRA, is always supporting the ITU in its efforts to enhance the ICT sector in developing countries. The UAE provides logistic and technical support to developing countries to improve their ICT infrastructure and achieve sustainable development, which is the basis for economic growth and society happiness.