Bahrain's Smart Card project has won a top award at an international IT conference held in New Delhi.

Central Informatics Organisation president Mohammed Al Amer received the award at the e-India 2007 conference and exhibition.

Projects from 36 countries were shortlisted for the award, organised by the IT magazine I4D.

Bahrain was the only Gulf country to receive the prestigious award, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa said.

"This is a great honour to receive the award at the largest annual IT conference in India," he said. "It was a proud occasion for the Bahrain delegation to be honoured in India, which is now a global leader in the area of information technology."

Shaikh Ahmed said Bahrain had been a pioneer in the field of Smart Card development.

"We received the best e-government project award in the Arab world at the Cardex conference and exhibition held in Cairo last year," he revealed.

CIO director general for IT, Mohammed Al Qaed, said Bahrain's Smart Card project received the award for its content and design.

"The judges praised the technology used in our Smart Card. The project was of special significance to India which is in the process of developing its own Smart Cards."

Information and Communication Technology committee member Abdulla Al Hamed made a presentation on Bahrain's e-government strategy at the Delhi conference.

"The Delhi event provided a platform for IT experts from around the world to share their experience and expertise," said Al Qaed. – TradeArabia News Service