The blockchain platform built by one of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) two telecoms operators has received an official endorsement from the government as part of the country’s blockchain integration, executives confirmed in a press release on April 3.
Du, formerly known officially as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, created its Blockchain-Platform-as-a-Service (BPaas) to offer cloud-based private blockchain hosting compatible with both Ethereum (ETH) and the Hyperledger Fabric.
Now, the platform has received the seal of approval from Smart Dubai, the government organization in charge of transforming state-level services with the leveraging of disruptive technologies by 2021.
“The Dubai blockchain agenda is an integral strategy for the city’s future and we are proud to be a key enabler for the digitisation of the government,” Farid Faraidooni, du’s deputy CEO of enterprise solutions, commented in the press release. He added:
“By building on top of our BPaaS to support the country’s digital transformation, our blockchain endorsement by the Smart Dubai Office is an important step towards providing smart solutions that create efficiencies for government transactions leading up to 2021.”
The announcement comes the same week as the UAE hosts a dedicated conference on blockchain’s role in the aviation industry. Last month, a similar conference addressed cryptocurrency more directly, with authorities hinting at the need for supportive regulation of the phenomenon.
Smart Dubai, meanwhile, also aims to implement advances such as Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its roadmap.
“The city of Dubai has pioneered blockchain from the onset and continues to be a global leader in providing new and improved ways to implement and set the future roadmap for the evolution of this ground-breaking technology,” Smart Dubai CEO Wesam Lootah added.
Cointelegraph has previously provided a comprehensive summary of Dubai’s blockchain plans.