To establish itself as a leading digital capital, Dubai becomes the world’s first paperless government.

Unlocking another achievement and intending to make Dubai a leading digital capital, Dubai is the first government globally to turn completely paperless, thereby achieving the goals of the Dubai Paperless Strategy which was launched in 2018.

With the implementation of going paperless, no employee or customer of the Dubai Government will need to print any paper documents or transactions unless they prefer to do so.

Announcing the news on Saturday, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said, “Today marks the beginning of a new stage in Dubai’s journey to digitise life in all its aspects – a journey rooted in innovation, creativity, and a focus on the future.”

“Four years ago, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had a vision that no Dubai Government employee or customer would need to print any paper document after 2021,” he added. “Today, that promise has been fulfilled.”

Launched in 2018, the Dubai Paperless Strategy was implemented in five consecutive phases— each of which registered a different group of Dubai Government entities. By the end of the fifth phase, the Strategy was fully executed across all 45 government entities in the emirate. These bodies provide more than 1,800 digital services and over 10,500 key transactions.

With the Dubai Paperless Strategy, the consumption of more than 336 million papers is reduced and has helped save more than Dh 1.3 billion and over 14 million-man hours across the Dubai Government.

The digitalisation of the administration will also help in providing services for residents through the DubaiNow application, which allows access to more than 130 smart city services in 12 major categories.