Abu-Ghazaleh Addresses the Importance of Information and Communications Technology in Building Smart Cities

AMMAN − April 21, 2016 – HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org), stressed that there is no future for transformation into smart cities without the use of information and communication technology during his keynote speech at the conference entitled “A Future Vision of Modern Administration of Cities in the Arab World” held at the Holiday Inn Hotel.

 Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh participated in the conference in his capacity as Co-chair of the UN Global Network on Promoting Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization (Network Eleven).

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh said that cities could reach sustainable urbanization by benefitting from the experiences of the smart cities that proved their success and excellence in this field, pointing out that the provision of e-government services guarantee various advantages including transparency, integrity, revenue in addition to saving time and effort.  

He added: TAG-Org is currently working with the United Nations on its ‘Sustainable Development Goal’ (SDG-11) in promoting better life for humans and working with UN Habitat in producing a “Best Practices” manual that reflects the best methods to enhance administrative development in cities."

According to Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh, the role of e-Government is essential for successful establishment of smart cities emphasizing on how governments can use electronic means to facilitate services in the fields of food, education, environment, transportation, and telecommunications.