Bahrain assumes presidency of Digital Cooperation Organization

Bahrain has officially been appointed to the presidency of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO).

Mohamed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, the country’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, takes over as the new chairman of DCO’s council.

The kingdom will supervise the strategic direction of the DCO for the coming year and support the ongoing execution of its key initiatives and programmes.

Set up in 2020, DCO was established by a group of founding countries that share an interest in collaborating to realise their collective digital potential. Member states include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Djibouti, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Jordan, and Rwanda.

In September last year, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the secretary general of the Digital Cooperation Organization, Deemah Al-Yahya, signed an agreement to establish the organisation’s official headquarters in Riyadh.

Read: Digital Cooperation Organization to establish HQ in Riyadh

Bahrain: Committed to the digital economy

The government has developed a robust regulatory environment, including personal data protection, data jurisdiction, intellectual property and e-transaction laws to support the kingdom’s digital economy.

The country was also ranked in the “Very High” scoring category of the 2022 United Nation’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI) 2022.

H.E. Mohammed bin Thamer Al-Kaabi, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Kingdom of Bahrain, the new Chairman of the Council of the DCO. Bahrain will oversee the strategic direction of the DCO and support the ongoing execution of key initiatives. #DCO_GA23 #Riyadh pic.twitter.com/RxR79ekbmp

— Digital Cooperation Organization (@dcorg) February 10, 2023

The country has developed advanced fintech policies, and its FinTech Bay is one of the leading centers for innovation in financial technology for MENA region.

Amazon Web Services has also chosen Bahrain as the home of its new hyperscale Cloud Region, the company’s first in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Al Kaabi said: “Bahrain is honoured to have been elected to the prestigious role of presidency of the DCO. Bahrain has put great focus on developing the regulatory framework, policies, and infrastructure that have enabled the Kingdom to establish an efficient and attractive digital ecosystem for businesses. Bahrain is ready to share its expertise and best practices with the Member States of the DCO, to enhance the mission of empowering all nations to build digital economies that drive growth and development.”

Deemah AlYahya, secretary-general of the DCO, said: “We are very pleased to announce that Bahrain has been ratified to the presidency of the DCO for 2023.

“Bahrain was one of the founding nations of the DCO, and now, under its presidency and the wise chairmanship of Mohamed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, we look forward to making great progress towards our goal of digital prosperity for all in 2023.”

The ascension of the kingdom to the presidency of the DCO was ratified during the second DCO General Assembly which took recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The general assembly, the first-ever in-person meeting of all of the DCO nations, brought together member states, along with observer partners and other stakeholders, in a forum for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and cooperation on building effective and inclusive digital economies.

Bahrain will host the next general assembly.