The Committee discussed key agenda items, including the launch of the eGovernment Guidance Strategy (2024-2030), developed under the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which realigns the vision, goals, and work plans aimed at meeting current trends and future challenges. This follows the completion of the previous strategy launched in 2014, which helped GCC countries achieve high rankings in the United Nations eGovernment Readiness Survey and laid the groundwork for digital transformation within the member states.
The committee also reviewed the minutes of the sub-committee’s meetings, which included discussions and approvals by the joint electronic services, unified software procurement, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and digital trust services teams.
The Ministerial Committee approved the unified framework for digital access for GCC countries prepared by Qatar. It praised the Digital Government Authority in Saudi Arabia for successfully hosting the fifth edition of the GCC Digital Government Award (DGA) during the second Digital Government Forum in December 2023 and approved a proposal to organize the award annually in the country holding the presidency round.
The meeting reviewed updates on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) by Saudi Arabia, which will host the forum from December 15 to 19, 2024, organized by United Nations. The committee emphasized the forum's role in shaping internet governance policies, exchanging information, and exploring best practices and solutions. They emphasized the importance of unity and the need to consider members' views and suggestions during the discussions.
The Committee approved distributing a "Digital Landscape in the GCC" booklet to member states, which includes discussions organized by the General Secretariat in Riyadh during 2023. These sessions covered issues such as online misinformation, tax and financial incentives for the ICT sector, the digital skills gap among youth and women, digital rights, intellectual property, and public-private partnerships aimed at enhancing the digital economy.
Upon reviewing the General Secretariat’s report, the Committee commended the GCC countries for their significant progress in the UN E-Government Survey, reflecting their high rankings in the E-Government Development Index (EGDI). They expressed hopes for continued digital advancements to strengthen the Council's regional and global standing.
The General Secretariat presented its report on the implementation of decisions from the seventh meeting, and the committee approved the proposal to hold the eighth meeting in October 2025, tasking the chairing country with setting the location and date.
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