Dubai becomes the world's first paperless administration.

With the aim of transitioning to a digital future, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that Dubai has become the world's first 100% paperless government. "Achieving this goal marks the beginning of a new phase in Dubai's journey to digitize life in every aspect. It is a journey rooted in innovation, creativity, and a focus on the future."

Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan added: "This achievement further strengthens Dubai's position as a leading digital capital in the world, and serves as a model for designing government activities and services to enhance customer well-being."

The Dubai Paperless Strategy has been implemented in five consecutive phases since 2018, each phase involving a different group within the Dubai Government. By the end of the fifth phase, the strategy had been fully implemented across all 45 government agencies in the emirate. These agencies provide over 1,800 digital services and more than 10,500 key transactions. The collaboration and integration among participating agencies have enabled the automation of processes and services delivered to customers, cutting paper consumption by over 336 million sheets.

Digitalization will also help provide exceptional experiences for citizens through the DubaiNow app, allowing access to over 130 smart city services across 12 key categories, such as helping people pay traffic fines, apply for residency, or renew car registrations quickly. The Crown Prince of Dubai stated that the Dubai government plans to implement cutting-edge strategies to create and enhance digital life in Dubai over the next five decades.

According to Livemint, major countries such as the US, UK, Europe, and Canada have planned to digitize government operations on a larger scale, including government administrative procedures and citizen identities. However, doubts remain about whether this is truly beneficial, given the potential for a cyberattack if the government were to fully digitize its platforms.

Khanh Ha