The Abu Dhabi Business Centre’s Department of Economic Development, DED, has completed e-linkage with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, bringing the total number of electronically linked federal and local governmental bodies to 37.

The percentage of economic licence transactions that are now conducted electronically with all the linked bodies has reached 98 percent, according to officials.

Mohammed Munif Al Mansouri, Acting CEO of the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, said that the e-linkage of the economic licence system project is one of the key initiatives that were adopted by the DED in Abu Dhabi. The aim is to establish an attractive business environment that is highly competitive and compliant with international standards, as part of the DED’s keenness to achieve one of the most important goals of the Abu Dhabi Plan in the field of economic development the establishment of a competitive and flexible environment for business practice.

He also said that the DED will continue the e-linkage project with all governmental bodies that are related to the approval of economic licencing by the end of this year. He pointed out that the Centre regularly organises workshops for representatives of the linked bodies, according to the project’s goals.

Ali Fahd Al Nuaimi, Director of Trade Relations at the Centre, emphasised that the e-linkage project is one of the unique developmental projects across the region, since it helps facilitate and simplify procedures for customers who previously had to go back and forth between different bodies to obtain approvals.

He added that the previous procedure cost investors and businessmen a lot of time, money and effort, because all the departments and institutions were located in different locations, both inside and outside the emirate. However, after this transformation and development in the service provision system, investors have to only deal with the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, which obtains approvals electronically in record time, and in accordance with the required procedures.