Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates has urged the Dominican government to become a virtually paperless government. The Sultan is known as one of the main promoters of modern development in Dubai.
The Sultan was the guest speaker at the Dominican Free Zone Association luncheon in the presence of President Danilo Medina yesterday, Tuesday 27 October 2015. He highlighted that the Dominican Republic manufacturing sector could make the most of the economic recovery in many countries that are now demanding more products. He said the DR has the infrastructure that it needs for commercial development, but needs to introduce smart government with paperless government for more efficient services. Bin Sulayem encouraged the government to move ahead in this area to simplify its operations. He pointed out that Dubai succeeded in becoming a paperless state in 18 months.
The guest speaker spoke of his experiences in Dubai and highlighted the importance of having a leader with vision. In Dubai, government, hospitals and even classrooms are paperless.
He said that in Dubai companies in Dubai are rated according to their international trade. He said that while in 2004 trade was US$14 billion, this grew to US$150 billion by 2008 and US$300 billion by 2014. He stressed free zone manufacturing zones can motorize development and that his country is an example of this. He said there are 32 free zone parks in Dubai with more than 7,000 companies that employ around 200,000 persons.
The Sultan said trade regulations needed to be flexible in order to adapt to commerce.
During his talk he described how manufacturing zones help to motorize the international supply chain, develop trade and create business. He commented that free zones were misunderstood, with a focus only on being a way to avoid taxation.
Also speaking at the event, Dominican Free Zones Association president Jose Tomas Contreras said that sector represents 3.2% of the GDP, 10% of accumulated foreign investment, 12% of formal jobs in the private sector and 50% of all exports. He said the sector contributed RD$4.7 billion to social security and RD$41 billion in taxation in local purchases.
http://www.7dias.com.do/economia/2015/10/27/i199324_las-zonas-francas-son-capaces-generar-gran-desarrollo-las-naciones.html#.VjDZnUvxj7J
http://www.diariolibre.com/economia/zonas-francas-representan-el-2-del-pib-10-inversion-extranjera-y-12-empleos-EI1695879
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_bin_Sulayem
http://www.adozona.org/app/do/not_det.aspx?id=917
http://www.listindiario.com/economia/2015/10/27/393865/sultan-de-dubai-insta-a-las-autoridades-dominicanas-a-implementar-el-gobierno-electronico
http://wirthconsulting.org/2015/05/26/united-arab-emirates-claims-its-first-government-to-go-paperless/