Green Tent Calls for Accelerating Digital Strategies to Reach Development Goals

Doha, April 28 (QNA) - A number of experts and researchers participating in the Green Tent called for the necessity to accelerate the implementation of national digital strategies for its crucial role in the economic and social growth necessary to achieve the sustainable development goals. Experts participating in the Green Tent organized by "A Flower Each Spring" program confirmed that the digital economy has become the top concern of many countries as a result of the tremendous growth in digital technologies and the increase in the number of users of them after they swept through the world of economy, trade, transportation, education, health and others. During the symposium on the digital economy in the Arab world, scholars, specialists and academics participated from different countries and spoke about cybercrime, mechanisms to combat it, national legislations, international treaties deterrent, and the positive economic aspects of social media platforms, and the position of technology in the Arab economic system. Head of A Flower Each Spring program Dr. Saif bin Ali Al Hajri explained that the concept of digital economy started in the 1990s, and began to develop to reach access and spread in all economic activities through smart phones and their applications and interactive web sites, in addition to social networks and participatory platforms, noting that the digital economy has become the focus of world attention, as a result of the tremendous growth in digital technologies and the increase in the number of users. He stressed the effectiveness of national digital strategies in achieving the economic and social growth necessary to achieve development goals. He pointed out the importance of enabling the digital economy, and employing technology from the aspects of information and communication, to serve trade at the global level, directing financing tools to invest in the digital economy, developing services, products and business models to stimulate economic growth, and training and preparing national cadres specialized in programming and maintenance to ensure the quality of their infrastructure. Dr. Al Hajri warned that piracy and cybercrime are the most prominent challenges facing this sector, which necessitates enacting local, regional and international laws and legislations, stiffening penalties and developing protection software in a way that cuts off pirates. For their part, the participants in the symposium stressed that the volume of investments in technology is very modest in the Arab world despite its possession of funds and minds that help it advance in this sector, noting that Arab exports of technological goods before the COVID-19 pandemic did not exceed USD 1.7 billion, while exports of other goods amounted to nearly $1.3 trillion, and that after the pandemic, they are expected to rise above $20 billion. The participants indicated that the development in information and communication technology calls for providing the necessary protection for users, whether individuals, establishments, institutions, investments and countries, from electronic attacks that may occur, noting that the increase in electronic transactions increases the likelihood of crimes, which requires the acceleration of the development of mechanisms to address electronic crimes. (QNA)