UAE continues lead in ICT progress

The UAE once again leads Middle Eastern countries in their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) progress, said a new report.

For a second straight year, the Emirates has been ranked first in the Gulf when it comes to “networking readiness” and “residential monthly telephone subscription,” according to the Global Information Technology Report (GITR), a project of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and INSEAD, a graduate business school based in Paris.

Now in its seventh annual round, the report rates how well a country uses ICT towards economic growth. The GITR is today recognised as the “gold standard” for benchmarking the technological competitiveness of a country, read a joint statement by the WEF and INSEAD.

“The E-government initiatives of the UAE and its overall investment in the ICT sector have been recognised as the drivers for the country’s leading position amongst its peer economies,” said Professor Soumitra Dutta, INSEAD’s Dean of External Relations and co-author of this year’s GITR.

However, it needs to do more in the areas of education, administration and Research & Development, Dutta added at a press conference.

“Technology alone can only help you a certain point. You need to do more to lift the country’s economy as a whole.”

Denmark goes that extra mile – it topped the global GITR list of 127 countries. The UAE came in at 29 worldwide, unchanged from last year.

The number of internet users in the Middle East has jumped over 600 per cent, three times the average increase across the board, the study noted.

INSEAD has opened a Centre for Executive Education and Research in Abu Dhabi, and recently added an E-Lab to it.

The full report is available for sale on www.insead.edu.