UAE wants to keep people happy, says Gergawi

UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs says the job of the government is to create happiness.

New ideas and people-centric policies were at the centre of discussions on the first day of The Government Summit hosted by the UAE government. Senior officials and cabinet ministers promised to keep up with technological innovations to help serve residents better and increase efficiency.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi delivers welcome speech at Government Summit.- KT photo by Rahul Gajjar

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the opening session of the summit, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs said: “We have one mission in the UAE — keeping people happy. The job of our government is to create happiness. If we can make your life hassle free and provide information and services on your mobile, we save your time. The aim of our government is to serve. We don’t want to just serve in a normal way, we want to excel.”

He added: “Governments around the world have six billion people who are their clients. The UAE is looking at how governments should operate in the future and continue providing first-class services. If we use technology well, it will be very easy for us. If we innovate, it is going to be easy for us. Human beings have tremendous capabilities and this summit looks at ways to unleash human potential.”

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum, opened the three day summit with a talk on effective governance and how new technologies affect governments. “Governments have to be role models in adopting new technologies. Governments cannot wait and see what others are doing. Those governments who master new technologies and adopt it faster than others will succeed.

“Governments have to be role models in working together with the other stakeholders — particularly with businesses. Only through public-private partnerships, can governments make full use of technological progress.”

Schwab discussed new ways of governance and explained how an explosion of new technologies presented new challenges. “The technology is not changing how we are doing things, but it is changing us (as humans). Just look at how the Internet has changed the behaviour of young children. What we have today is the need for governments to master complex systems which underline everything we do in society. What we need today is innovation and creativity. In the future, governments will create their own private social communities to interact with citizens in a continuous sustained way.

“In order to be a leader, you have to understand what you are doing and be among the best in your field. That alone is not enough. You should even have a soul with vision and values. You have to know which direction you are moving in and that is where you need to have an inbuilt compass.” The three day summit focused on bringing best practices from the private sector into government sector and sessions on education, health and transportation dominated discussions on the first day.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com

What governments need to focus on

> Public-private cooperation — The challenges which the society faces today cannot be solved by a government, business or civil society. What we need is a multi-stakeholder cooperation where strengths are integrated. It is essential to integrate youth in what we are doing. Also we need expertise. That is the reason why we have to involve the best experts in what we do.

> Creating megacities — Cities will be key to create delivery systems. Each country’s national government has a duty to increase GDP but it is the cities which will create the framework for the happiness of people. The cities provide right health system, education and happiness.

> Reducing unemployment — There is an immense need to create social inclusion. Talent is replacing capitalism and a government should create talents and make sure it adapts to economic and technological progress.

> Including technology in development goals — How to master the tech revolution is a major challenge not just for governments but for all mankind. It has many opportunities but also presents threats. In order to deal with this change, capabilities and talents will have to be created.

> Education for all — Governments can succeed in the long run if they emphasise education. Education is the key to create talent needed for tomorrow and here if we speak about education, we have to keep in mind, that education will change completely. The emphasis will be on lifelong education. It will be on education for creativity, innovation and for minds which are entrepreneurial.

• UAE