The Covid-19 pandemic altered the standards and norms in the field of work, alerting us to the importance of updating existing mechanisms of business implementation and looking at them from a different and more comprehensive perspective. In a short period, we learned to adapt to the context and new reality of a forced lockdown, followed by an attempt to positively adapt to the ever-changing restrictions as required for public interest.

This pandemic forced the world to rethink work mechanisms. Overnight, there was a need to harness various types of capabilities and technologies, to secure urgent needs at several levels and around the clock, to ensure access to systems and data safely and preserve business continuity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) was able to harness modern technologies with the support and readiness of its infrastructure, to overcome the new reality with high efficiency and effectiveness.

The Ministry serves 140 locations around the world, in addition to its headquarters and branches in the United Arab Emirates. Since the onset of the pandemic, as part of its quest to implement a more distinguished model and based on the readiness of its infrastructure and the adoption of the latest technologies, MOFAIC sought to roll out the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the first phase of which is expected to be launched during the fourth quarter of this year.

The ERP system will contribute to the enhancement of governance and bolster the effectiveness of work procedures, providing services more efficiently across all 140 locations around the world and in the Ministry's main offices in the country. Such will ensure the achievement of the objectives and strategy of the Ministry by the end of 2021, and upgrade the level of services provided to achieve integrated digital transformation, as the system ensures centralization and governance of administrative and financial procedures, with intensive follow-up at all levels of the institutional hierarchy.

This will ensure the provision of all types of services in accordance with the standards of quality, efficiency and transparency, as well as accurate and timely information and data. The system will also contribute in enhancing the quality of the Ministry's strategic performance report and help foresee the future with full compliance with applicable federal laws, regulations, decisions and circulars. This project spurs from our constant quest for readiness and foresight by activating smart electronic platforms and enabling human cadres to take on future capabilities.

In short, the system's implementation will nurture the culture of innovation in the institutional work environment, giving the Ministry and the work team greater readiness to expand comfortably in accordance with the requirements of the next fifty years. In the era of digitization and remote work, the relationship between work and the cloud has become pivotal, whereas productivity can be greatly enhanced from any location and at any time with effective solutions and with the appropriate tools. 

It is through this new reality and using the right tools that the Ministry seeks to provide the most effective electronic platforms at all locations, and continuously enhance its services in line with the vision of the UAE's wise leadership.

His Excellency Abdullah Mohamed Al Blooki
Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation