The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZ) signed yesterday (Wednesday, October 21, 2015) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Smart Government (DSG) to strengthen cooperation in providing support to government smart services in line with their mutual efforts to implement the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership aimed at transforming Dubai into a ‘smart’ city. The agreement was signed by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General, DAFZ, and H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Bin Humaidan, Director General, DSG, in the presence of key officials and managers from both sides at DSG’s stand in Gitex Technology Week 2015 which is currently being held in Dubai under the theme ‘The Internet Future of Everything.’
The mutual cooperation will revolve around DSG’s support for the information and communications technology (ICT) services and smart applications provided by DAFZ. The new partnership is of major significance to strengthen integration and harmony between the two parties in providing high-quality smart services which is necessary for achieving the objective of making Dubai the smartest city in the world, in line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The reenergized collaboration will address training requirements and commitment to DSG’s information security policies. This will ensure the delivery of highly reliable smart services which can enhance the satisfaction and happiness of DAFZ’s customers – including investors, entrepreneurs, regional, multinational and international companies and DAFZ employees. DSG will take all the necessary steps to accommodate DAFZ’s requests which mainly focus on Request for Information (Inquiry), Training, Service Access, Data Maintenance, Resolutions, and Enhancement.
Dr. Al Zarooni emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation with DSG which is leading the way in building the innovative and proactive government of the future. He pointed out that the strategic partnership reflects DAFZ’s commitment to the smart transformation initiative launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed to make Dubai a smart and sustainable city by 2021. This supports Dubai’s preparation to host World Expo 2020 which requires the provision of ultimate-quality and high-value smart services, on par with Dubai Vision 2021.
“The mutual agreement creates a robust foundation for establishing a strong, complementary relationship that adds value in terms of offering the highest standards of information security and supporting DSG’s service,” Dr. Al Zarooni said. “This move is part of our ongoing commitment to keep pace with latest smart technologies and fast-emerging IT innovations in order to offer high-level services and solutions and increase customer satisfaction and happiness. We are upbeat about the MoU we have signed which complements our ongoing efforts to achieve the goals of the smart city initiative. It will enable us to raise the bar on IT infrastructure and offer integrated smart services that will further promote our position as one of the most advanced freezones in the world and support Dubai’s quest for a smart transformation.”
For his part. H.E. Ahmed Bin Humaidan, Director General, Dubai Smart Government, said, “This bilateral cooperation represents great significance—standing as a solid foundation that aims to provide the necessary technical support for electronic and smart services offered by DAFZ, which is currently taking proactive steps to support the move towards transforming the emirate into a Smart City that is able to keep up with the latest technologies and meet the growing needs of the local community and global businesses. We look forward to working closely with DAFZ and plan to intensify joint efforts to improve the level of readiness of smart services. Rest assured that we will remain steadfast in the commitment to provide the free zone with 24/7 services and support that is in accordance with the highest standards of efficiency and reliability in order to achieve high customer satisfaction and happiness. This partnership falls in line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. In addition, we are also fully committed in providing DAFZ with the latest world class well-developed IT infrastructure and smart services and high-level technical support to further reinforce its move towards improving the performance of its smart services and making strong positive impact in its support to achieve the goals of Dubai 2021 vision in making Dubai an integrated and connected Smart City.”
DAFZ continues to mark major milestones in smart transformation. It has launched a series of innovative initiatives to enhance its portfolio of smart services, such as its Happiness Index initiative which complies with the proposed timeline under supervision of DSG, its Wi-Fi network project which makes DAFZ among the first free zones in the region to offer free wireless internet to its customers and employees. It also launched a new smart mobile application which can identify the user and allow him to leverage on DAFZ’s wide range of services such as ‘SMART Investor’ for companies and customers, ‘SMART Operations’ for security services like ‘DAFZ Eye’, ‘Automated solutions for traffic management’, and ‘Main Gate Entry Permits’, in addition to ‘SMART Employee’ which allows DAFZ employees to access all services and requests. This portfolio of smart services and applications were unveiled during Gitex 2015 and met with favourable response from decision makers, senior government figures, and IT leaders.
