Twenty million people have visited Bahrain e-government portal since the national e-government strategy was launched.

A new set featuring 13 new e-services will be added to www.bahrain.bh next month, bringing the overall number of services to 124.

The update was revealed as Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired the 27th meeting of the High National Committee for Information and Telecommunications at Gudaibiya Palace.

A total of 146,038 transactions worth BD9.8 million have also been processed via the portal. According to the updated statistics, 31 mobile phone e-services have been launched. Ten more are expected to be launched in the course of next week.

E-services are also available at four postal centres located in Sanad, the Muharraq Shopping Mall, Budaiya and the Capital Mall. Preparations are in full swing to launch 11 other centres during the first quarter of this year. Five e-kiosks are scheduled to be launched next month, bringing the overall number of such facilities to 23.

UN Adviser for e-government Richard Kirby gave a presentation in which he highlighted Bahrain’s development in the field according to the UN 2010 report in which the kingdom ranked 13th in the world, third in Asia and first in the Gulf, Arab and Middle East regions. He also praised the leadership’s keenness to advance e-government services.

The committee also decided to create a post of content manager in ministries. It also directed all government bodies to use the government e-mail address.

The meeting also reviewed latest developments concerning the third edition of the e-Government Distinction Award to be held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammed. Candidates for the award, including from the public sector, the private sector and the community, can apply from March 1.

The winners will be announced during Bahrain’s International e-Government Forum next May. The panel discussed preparations to host Cisco Networkers’ conference under the patronage of HRH the Crown Prince.-TradeArabia News Service