The UAE Government portal, u.ae, attracted a record number of users in August 2020, totalling nearly 1.4 million, which is the highest monthly figure ever reached since its launch in 2000.

This increase in the number of portal visitors comes as a result of measures taken by the portal team in keeping with the precautionary government efforts to combat coronavirus, COVID-19, where the portal has incorporated a special section on coronavirus in line with the directives of the UAE government aimed at promoting awareness about this disease and working to curb its spread.

The section includes information on coronavirus, the government's efforts to contain the virus, anti-coronavirus legislation, the national sterilisation programme, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and many other pages providing visitors with sufficient and reliable information about this pandemic and ways to protect against it.

In the first half of 2020, the number of users of the portal increased by over 50 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Salem Al Hosani, Acting Deputy Director-General of the Information and mGovernment Sector at the Telecommunications Regulation Authority, TRA, said that the number of visits to the portal in August 2020 reached two million and the authority is currently developing the portal and updating its sections, according to the best international standards and through the use of Artificial Intelligence, AI, tools to study user behaviour and needs.

Al Hosani announced a project to develop a national platform for digital participation, which will be launched in the coming period to monitor the relevant experiences of government authorities, private sector entities and community events, noting that the platform will be an advanced step towards creating a smart city community and a comprehensive community partnership, to ensure the community’s happiness.

Ahlam Al Feel, Director of the Corporate Communications Department, stated that the portal has over 9,000 pages, adding that the majority of visitors in August 2020 were from India, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

She also highlighted the interest of the portal’s visitors in pages containing information on visas, Emirati IDs, COVID-19 and related testing, and the return of UAE residents currently outside the country.

The portal represents the official address of the UAE in the world wide web, and is visited by all who are interested in accessing information, services, projects, policies and laws in the United Arab Emirates. Today, the portal provides information and services of interest to citizens, residents, visitors and investors, and serves as the first reference for government information on the Internet as well as a reliable information source for information about employment, investment, tourism, infrastructure and visa systems, as well as a full list of all government services in the country.

The official portal of the UAE Government was launched in May 2011 to act as a single-window for online information and services provided by federal and local UAE entities to individuals, visitors and business owners.

News Source: http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302866880