H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, affirmed the Ministry's commitment to developing initiatives that boost the economic and commercial sector in light of the comprehensive development plan under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the keen follow up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
This came as H.E. The Minister announced the launch of Sijilat 3.0, in cooperation with the Information and e-Government Authority, Bahrain Post and Cisco, during a press conference held at the BCCI building, with the participation of BCCI Chairman H.E. Mr. Samir Abdullah Nass, Information and e-Government Authority CEO Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed, iGA Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Dr Zakaria Ahmed Al Khaja, and Mr. Nibras Mohammed Ali Talib, Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Registration and Companies at MOIC, in addition to a number of invitees from the public and private sectors.
During the conference, H.E. Mr. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, confirmed that the launch of Sijilat 3.0 aims to develop and improve the quality of services provided by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce by implementing the latest technologies that enable investors to manage their business easily and from anywhere in the world. Improvements in the new system include a collection of new e-services, which facilitate and reduce steps to access services by 60%.
The Minister indicated that the improved system uses modern programming techniques that suit the format of various devices, in addition to other new services, most notably the "automated guide" service, which is an interactive tool and a proactive step that enables investors to access everything they need to establish their business and determine the appropriate structure of the commercial registration or its activity before starting it, and providing the service of printing certificates for the CR, which allows businessmen and investors to obtain certificates and CR data through the Sijilat e-system, in addition to providing and improving 10 services for CR holders.
H.E. Fakhro elaborated that the process of developing Sijilat also included adding a “Dashboard" to display all commercial records, enabling investors to complete many transactions such as submitting a request for a new registry, deleting record, renewing and searching for active records, as well as searching for commercial activities, renewing commercial records without a license, changing the address, as well as adding a help page and a feature to inquire about transactions. A collection of utilities was developed, providing a cost and time period calculation tool, a tool for comparing activities and providing samples of documents required to facilitate the application process and guidance videos for all services provided through the system, as well as a guide to business requirements and virtual customer service.
His Excellency added that the system's technical infrastructure was developed by transferring it to cloud computing to increase speed and efficiency and ensure quality of services.
For his part, BCCI Chairman Sameer Abdullah Nass affirmed that the launch of the improved Sijilat System came to develop and improve the quality of services, and that such initiatives achieve sustainability for the entrepreneurship and investment sector, and maintain its growth and prosperity.
H.E. added that increasing the volume of commercial and investment activities in Bahrain through facilitating the establishment procedures for investors and developing them continuously supports the Chamber's objectives and commitment to provide the business environment with all means to create a well-rounded investment environment.
Mr. Nass noted Bahrain's keenness to constantly keep up with the latest developments in the field of entrepreneurship, and to keep pace with the requirements of the labor market in light of global economic developments. Pointing out that Bahrain is one of the countries that took serious steps towards future sciences and investing opportunities for innovation and creativity to achieve the objectives of Bahrain's economic vision 2030.
For his part, Mr. Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed, CEO of the Information and e-Government Authority stressed that continuing to develop Sijilat affirms the government's belief in its significant role as one of the factors that provide a supportive environment for various activities and businesses of the private sector, and contributes to attracting Bahraini, Gulf and international investors.
Al-Qaed expressed his appreciation to all the teams that worked to improve the new Sijilat system to include the new integrated and supportive electronic features and services that support the commercial sector and attract investors, stressing at the same time that the Authority, under the support of Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology, is continuing to develop Sijilat in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and other concerned entities, and will continue the process of digital transformation of government services and systems.
Notably, the commercial records system "Sijilat" is an integrated electronic portal that aims to provide a commercial investment environment that attracts Bahraini, Gulf and international investors and facilitates the establishment of commercial projects and the completion of any requirements related to commercial activities.
The first version of Sijilat was launched in 2015 under the name "Commercial Records" making Bahrain the first country in the region to provide such a service. The first version of the system provided an e-link with commercial record licensees and the "Definition File" service as a written guide for the use of various Sijilat services, as well as adding the services of commercial companies, most importantly issuing a CR.
In 2016, (Sijilat 2) was launched, featuring the service of issuing a CR without a license within 93 seconds only, in addition to including the adoption of the National Classification of Economic Activities (ISIC4).
For more information or inquiries regarding Sijilat 3.0, contact the government services call center on: 80008001, or submit inquiries, observations and suggestions through (Tawasul), or through the e-mail of the Investor Relations Directorate IR@moic .gov.bh.
