Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, a few days ago announced the launch of the Blockchain Strategy 2021. The main goal of this strategy is to conduct half of the federal transactions using the blockchain technology by 2021.
The strategy should generate savings of around three billion US dollars per year, now spent on managing documents. Moreover, 77 million working hours should also be saved, the government documents will be reduced by 389 million and 1.6 billion kilometers would not need to be driven. According to the official announcement, the strategy is based on four pillars: citizen and resident happiness, government efficiency, advanced legislation and global entrepreneurship.
Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said to Gulf News the adaptation to the advanced technologies and their usage to increase the efficiency of the governments and serve the society is one of the main focuses firmly established by the United Arab Emirates: “The adoption of this technology will reflect on the quality of life in the UAE and will enhance happiness levels for citizens. 50 percent of government transactions on the federal level will be conducted using Blockchain technology by 2021… This technology will save time, effort and resources and enable individuals to conduct most of their transactions in a timely manner that suits their lifestyle and work.”
When it comes to processing documents, the UAE is currently managing more than 100 million documents per year, including visa applications, invoices, license renewals, etc. If these documents were processed digitally, the blockchain technology would enable the country to save 114 tons of carbon dioxide because it would not be necessary to travel by car to conduct these procedures.
The United Arab Emirates have expressed a great interest in the blockchain technology. Dubai would like to become the blockchain city of the UEA and in 2016 it launched an initiative called Smart Dubai, which served as the basis for the Blockchain Strategy 2021 announced a few days ago.
As part of their efforts to promote the blockchain technology in the country, the United Arab Emirates organized an event in Dubai called GovHack. During the event, blockchain projects from around the world are presented. In February this year, 61 projects were presented.
Moreover, in February this year, the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai announced it was planning to launch a blockchain vehicle lifecycle management system. This system is scheduled to be launched in 2020 and it would allow the customers to track the history of their vehicle.
