The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) won two of the eight awards for government ministries and organisations, presented at the opening of the Bahrain International e-Government Forum last night.

The LMRA won the awards in the E-Maturity and E-Content categories.

The awards were presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.

Other award winners in the government sector include:

E-Services Award: Education Ministry for the King Hamad School of the Future project; E-Services: Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence for its e-visa; E-Proposal: Tender Board for e-tendering; E-Economy: Economic Development Board.

Two appreciation awards were presented to the Industry and Commerce Ministry, and the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry.

The ICT Solution Provider Award for the private sector was won by Bahrain Business Machines (BBM).

The E-Citizen Award was shared by Abdulla Rashid Buhijji and Salman Moosa Al Alawi.

Buhijji carried out 48 electronic transactions worth BD11,000, and Al Alawi did 42 transactions valued at BD5,000 ($13,265).

The E-Participation Award was won by Hassan Ali Hameed and Anwar Hassan Ali. They were selected through an online poll.

E-Government Agency chief executive officer Mohammed Al Qaed said the award winners were selected by an independent jury, headed by an expert from the World Summit Award committee.

"They scrutinised the websites of all participating organisations, and the idea was to enhance the e-government readiness of our ministries and organisations," he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"Such competitions will prepare our ministries to win several regional and international awards eventually," Al Qaed added.-TradeArabia News Service