Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The 3rd Roundtable Programme for Arab Ministers of Telecommunications and Heads of Arab Telecommunications Regulatory and Information Technology Regulators held on Thursday in Dubai, organised by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in cooperation with the Ripe Network Coordination Center (RIPE NCC).

The programme agenda focused on the important role of governments and regulators to develop the Internet sector, in addition to the latest developments and challenges and how to protect against cyber threats and risks faced by governments in the Arab world.

In his opening speech, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, thanked the RIPE NCC for its efforts in helping countries and regions to promote their adoption and use of the Internet to serve the global transformation towards the digital knowledge society and economy. He also thanked the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their excellent hosting of the previous edition of this meeting.

He added: “We have important strategic issues to examine and discuss, we have a lot of headlines that represent opportunities and challenges at the same time. These include the future of the Internet in light of the growing scope of users across the region, prospects for the implementation of IPv6 and the consequent necessities of coordination and mutual benefit from expertise and experience.”

“We also have the challenge of cybersecurity, especially in light of the uncertainty surrounding the digital future. We are heading to a world that is completely different from what humanity has known in recent decades. This requires assessing the challenges in a holistic approach, to serve the region and the world.”

The programme activities discussed the results of the second roundtable meeting in Riyadh 2018, the development of the Internet sector in the Arab countries through statistics analysis and trends, and the policies set for the distribution of Internet protocol numbers, database and government participation.

Participants also discussed cooperation with governments and regulators in support of the Internet enabling environment, the risks of running out of IPv4 and the economic importance of IPv6.

Participants discussed ways to enhance cooperation and technical support with security and government entities. The agenda of the meeting also included an open discussion on the most important issues and developments related to the Internet.

The event is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between TRA and RIPE NCC, aims to enhance cooperation and exchange of expertise in various sectors of Internet development, including the organisation and hosting of relevant training courses, meetings, conferences, IPv6 promotions, and a visit to UAE universities to introduce students to the latest Internet innovations and technologies, with the aim of ensuring the efficiency of Internet operations in the Middle East.

The UAE has achieved the first position in the Middle East in transformation to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), according to statistics issued by Ripe NCC, Akamai Technologies, and Google. This achievement comes less than two years after the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has launched the first phase of IPv6 in the UAE. TRA was established in the UAE according to the Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003.

The role of TRA focuses on two fields: regulating the telecommunications sector, and enabling government entities in the field of smart transformation, as well as promoting cyber security in order to preserve the society’s safety and enhance its happiness and wellbeing.

In regulation, TRA role focuses on ensuring excellent telecom services, developing the ICT sector, protecting the stakeholders’ interests, implementing relevant policy and regulatory frameworks, developing human resources and promoting research and development, in order to ensure that the UAE has a leading regional and global position in the ICT sector.

In enablement, TRA is responsible for the mGovernment according to the Law No. 3 of 2011.

Since then, TRA has been responsible for digital transformation in the Federal Government through two strategic goals: enhancing smart lifestyle and leadership in smart technological infrastructure in the UAE.