News

The sessions of the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2023 came to a close on Tuesday 10th October 2023. Held under the patronage of His Excellency General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology (MCICT) at Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir, the forum focused on the theme "AI: Reshaping Industries".

More than 400 people participated in the sessions, which were held on Monday and Tuesday (9th and 10th October). An elite group of experts participated in a range of discussions on specialized topics related to AI. The technology exhibition, COMEX Bahrain 2023 continues until 11th October in parallel with the forum’s workshops presented in cooperation with Microsoft and Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF).

Discussions during the sessions focused on creating a roadmap for deploying AI in Bahrain by integrating it into critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and other government domains. The role of the private sector in AI development was also discussed, with attention to technical risks and enhancing cybersecurity in implementing this technology.

Pilar De Miguel, Executive Partner at Gartner, delivered a keynote presentation ‘Successful AI Implementation to Improve Life Being’. The corresponding panel ‘Redefining Customer Experience with AI’, featured input from de Miguel, Dr. Hesham Al Ammal – Chair of BENEFIT Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Computing Lab – University of Bahrain; and Ameen Altajer, CEO of INFINITEWARE.

Todd Schweitzer, Founder and CEO of Brankas, presented a keynote on 'How AI Supports Economic Development,' highlighting the adoption of AI in the UK, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia as a central element of their national strategies, and recognizing the strong link between AI adoption and economic growth. Following the presentation, he joined the panel discussion, ‘Shedding Light on AI and the Financial Ecosystem’ alongside Dr. Raymond Khoury, Senior Partner at Arthur D. Little, and Hessa Hussain, Assistant General Manager at Bahrain Credit Reference Bureau.

Saleh Al-Nemer, CTO of HP Enterprise delivered a presentation titled ‘Applications of AI: Driving the Relationship between Technology, Data and Business Value’. The day concluded with a panel on ‘The Future of AI’, which featured insights from Al-Nemer; Dr. Abdulrahman Al Mahmood, Principal Researcher in TII and Board Member in the Robotics and Automation Society - UAE; and Rami Esbai, Head of Modelling and Forecasting, Bapco Upstream.

The 10th edition of the forum has drawn the participation of government officials, private sector representatives, IT professionals, and enthusiasts from various government, private, civil society, and academic institutions.