Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Sami Smeirat, stressed on Sunday the importance of enabling citizens to use high-quality digital government services, to spare time and effort. Speaking at the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (Intaj), he said 60% of Jordan's government services were digitized in 1,440 public services so far, with a plan to digitize 960 others by the end of next year. According to an Intaj statement, the meeting addressed a slew of "strategic" axes aimed to develop the communications and information technology (CIT) sector in Jordan, and enhance the partnership between the public and private sectors. For his part, Intaj Chairman, Eid Sweis, called on the government to extend exemption of information technology exports from income tax, which will end in 2025, aimed to achieve goals of the Economic Modernization Vision. Sweis stressed the importance of seizing the opportunities available in the Kingdom's CIT sector, and bridging the funding gap facing start-ups, especially in their early stages due to the lack of venture capital, affirming the need for investments to serve this purpose. Sweis said Intaj is preparing to hold the Middle East and North Africa ICT Forum next November, with the attendance of a large number of experts and specialists in the sector locally and internationally. Source: Jordan News Agency