KUWAIT, Dec 21 (KUNA) -- His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award announced on Sunday five winners of the prize in its 25th edition, recognizing leadership and excellence in digital transformation at local and international levels.
In a statement to KUNA, Kuwait received two awards, the first for the government digital platform Sahel and the second awarded to the late Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Sharekh, a pioneering Kuwaiti technologist, in recognition of a lifelong record of innovation.
Al-Sharekh, a Kuwaiti visionary founder of Sakhr Software Company, which introduced the Arabic language into the world of computers, was selected for his achievements as well as for inspiring generations of researchers, programmers and entrepreneurs across the Arab world.
Sahel Application was awarded as one of Kuwait's most significant digital transformation projects, developed in record time as an integrated government platform, becoming a model for accessibility, transparency and citizen-focused digital services, with more than 2.3 million users completing over 100 million transactions.
The statement added that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were also selected.
Saudi Arabia's selection was attributed to achievements of platforms such as Absher, Tawakkalna, Nafath and Etimad, alongside expansion in 5G networks and Artificial Intelligence initiatives, ranking sixth globally and third in Asia.
The UAE was recognized for building an advanced ecosystem unified government services and smart cities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, placing it among the world's top performers in proactive services and government integration, ranking 11th globally and fourth in Asia.
Bahrain's award reflected progress through its national e-government portal and participatory platforms such as Tawasul, in addition to its emergence as a regional hub for cloud computing and financial technologies, ranking 18th globally and sixth in Asia.
The results highlight a great progress in digital transformation across Kuwait and the region, stressing that winners were selected through, transparent criteria and detailed evaluation of achievements. (end) zhr.sar