Qatar, represented by Ms Mashael Al Hammadi, Acting Undersecretary for Information Technology Affairs at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and Mr Hassan Al Khaja, Director of the Planning and Quality Department at the General Tax Authority (GTA), participated in the 9th Meeting of the e-Government Arab Directors via the internet on Zoom.

The meeting reflected the importance of integration between the national digital agendas and Arab reports, as in the Second Arab Report for Digital Development that integrates with the Arab Report for Sustainable Development and the Arab Digital Agenda that integrates with the Arab Strategy for Information Technology and Communications.

The meeting affirmed the importance of forming a work team of national experts from all sectors of concerned ministries and departments, including information and communications, digital economy, social affairs, labor and culture, while stressing the importance of national statistics, in addition to the impact of open government on private sector and open participation for citizens.

Mr Hassan Al Khaja clarified the digital transformation journey of the tax system in the State of Qatar, whether before or after establishing the General Tax Authority. This included recently establishing Dhareeba in June 2020 with the aim of developing the infrastructure of the tax system. He also pointed out to the success factors adopted by GTA, which included the implementation of several projects in parallel, the reference to experienced individuals and companies, and the e-linking with relevant entities.

Al Khaja added that GTA still has future plans and aspirations, which include the completion of e-linking with different entities, the development of artificial intelligence and the adoption of the e-billing system.