The Government of Malta and the Government of the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which establishes further cooperation between Malta and the UAE on five areas which include government innovation and government mobile apps.
The MOU was signed by the Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Leo Brincat and the Minister for Cabinet Affairs of the UAE Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, in the presence of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar, the Permanent Secretary of Strategy and Implementation Joyce Dimech and MITA Executive Chairman Tony Sultana were also present at the signing ceremony.
This MOU is the result of an understanding reached between the Maltese Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of the UAE back in November 2015. The MOU is a blueprint for further collaboration at political, bilateral and strategic level.
The five areas of cooperation are:
Innovation: To build a culture of innovation amongst Citizens, Government and Private Sector that will drive future innovation based on the pillars of Innovation-Enabling Environment, Innovation Champions and Innovation Priority Sectors.
Education and Training in Public Administration: Develop collaborative arrangements and exchange programmes, in coordination with international institutions, for the provision of education and training to current and prospective public administration employees, with a view to address the needs of the public administration.
Government Key Performance Indicators: Assist Government through the sharing of knowledge and experience in instituting a culture of Key Performance Indicators across the different levels of national and organizational operations, through which targets are set and measures are taken for these targets to be achieved in order to improve government performance.
SMART Government: Assess and evaluate opportunities for setting up a platform for a born-mobile suite of user-friendly government Apps and a framework for the transformation of current information systems to be mobile enabled and to provide a smart digital One Stop Shop for joined up government services.
Accelerator Programme: Explore opportunities to synergise national investments to support Accelerators Programmes for start-up.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that today's challenges require strong government leadership in order to harness technology and inspire innovative solutions. The world is changing and we need to adapt to new realities. Having government available 24/7 via mobile applications is the way forward.
The Prime Minister added that "This agreement represents a shared commitment to that strong leadership, and by pushing the boundaries of science and technology together, we can create a better future for everyone."