Experts in the information technology sector said the directives of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein to the government represent an important boost to Jordan’s digital transformation efforts and reaffirm that technology has become an essential part of the country’s future.
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Speaking to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), they said further development of the “Sanad” application would provide a unified gateway to government services. They also noted that Jordanian companies have the expertise and capabilities needed to meet institutional requirements in digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
The experts stressed the importance of establishing an integrated, secure and continuously updated national database that connects government institutions, improves decision-making and enhances the quality of public services.
They said the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, education and transport can help anticipate challenges and support decision-making, while automating routine procedures can reduce errors and improve operational efficiency.
During his participation in part of a Cabinet session last Wednesday, the Crown Prince stressed the importance of continuing to develop successful initiatives emerging from the National Council for Future Technology, including the Digital Health Center, which provides telemedicine services, and the “Sanad” application, which has made significant progress in delivering digital services to citizens.
He also stressed the need to improve government data management to make use of artificial intelligence tools for analysis, extracting indicators and making accurate decisions at the appropriate time.
Engineer Haitham Al-Rawajbeh, representative of the telecommunications and information technology sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, said the Crown Prince’s directives provide an important push toward an interconnected, data-driven digital government that uses artificial intelligence to improve the quality of services.
He highlighted the importance of linking and consolidating government databases while improving their accuracy through the establishment of a national government data governance framework based on unified standards for data definition, quality, updating and ownership, as well as identifying entities authorized to use the data.
He also called for building a unified government integration layer that would enable government systems to communicate through application programming interfaces (APIs) and a unified digital identity, eliminating the need for citizens to submit the same documents and information to every government agency.
Al-Rawajbeh also emphasized the importance of establishing a government intelligence platform as a direct technological implementation of the directives to use artificial intelligence for analysis, extracting indicators and supporting accurate decision-making at the right time.
He said expanding successful initiatives such as the Digital Health Center would be an important priority in the coming phase, with the aim of developing them into a national digital health network linking hospitals, health centers and specialized medical services, while supporting appointments, referrals and remote consultations and using analytics and artificial intelligence where permitted by medical and legal regulations.
Al-Rawajbeh also stressed the importance of establishing a system to measure the performance of digital services based on clear indicators, including average processing time, number of steps, the percentage of transactions completed entirely online, the number of times citizens need to visit an institution, service disruption rates, user satisfaction, service abandonment rates and the government cost per transaction.
He noted that cybersecurity and privacy must be incorporated into the design of digital services from the outset.
Fadi Qutishat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (int@j), said Jordanian companies possess the expertise and capabilities required to meet institutional needs in digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
He stressed the importance of leveraging these capabilities to translate the Crown Prince’s directives into more efficient government services.
Qutishat said linking databases across ministries and institutions, while ensuring their accuracy, regular updating and secure exchange, would help reduce repetitive procedures, accelerate citizen transactions and provide a foundation for information analysis and government decision-making.
He called for building on the experience of the “Sanad” application by expanding its services, improving ease of use for different segments of society, and developing proactive services such as notifications about the approaching expiration of official documents and vaccination appointments.
He also highlighted the importance of training government employees in data analysis, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, while strengthening the roles of data scientists and digital transformation specialists to ensure sustainable development.
Qutishat explained that the association plays a role in strengthening communication between government entities and Jordanian technology companies and showcasing the capabilities of its member companies and startups, creating opportunities to benefit from their expertise in developing solutions that meet the needs of institutions and citizens.
He said the association can help identify cooperation opportunities, facilitate knowledge transfer and connect government needs with local expertise, supporting private-sector participation in digital transformation projects and accelerating the development of services, including telemedicine and financial services.
Information technology consultant and expert Engineer Abdulhamid Al-Rahamneh said the Crown Prince’s focus on digitalization is directly linked to its impact on citizens’ daily lives.
He said the Crown Prince’s recent chairing of a Cabinet session and his discussion of digital transformation and government services demonstrate that the issue is receiving direct attention at the highest level, building on continued royal support for the development of e-government and the creation of a modern state.
Al-Rahamneh added that the “Sanad” application, with its ongoing updates and development, represents a qualitative step in the evolution of electronic government services by bringing together a large number of digital services and documents on a single platform.
He noted that Jordan has the infrastructure and skilled personnel needed to achieve the desired digital transformation, stressing that the Crown Prince’s attention to and follow-up on the issue make technology a practical tool for developing state institutions, delivering services faster and more easily, and improving citizens’ lives by saving time, effort and money.
Source: Petra
