Achievements in e-government

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for government activities is not new in the MENA region. Concerted efforts to apply these technologies to public services and for improving governance practices have become widespread over the past five years. While many different motives have driven e-government adoption in MENA region, the common denominators are the perceived needs to improve public service quality, to strengthen administrative control, and to join the international mainstream. E-government proves to be a privileged gateway to a wide range of public sector reforms, and the MENA region offers a very broad scope of experiences. This chapter highlights the experience of countries like Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, which are primarily concerned with basic implementation of e-government, and countries like Bahrain and Dubai which are applying e-government good practice quite widely to expand services to citizens and to foster inward investment and growth.