Saudi Arabia launches digital ID project on ‘Tawakkalna’ app

Saudi Arabia launches digital ID project on ‘Tawakkalna’ app
March 25, 2021, 11:18 am

Saudi Hala Abdullah shows her page on the Tawakkalna app as she enters a shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (File photo: AP)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), launched the digital identity project on the “Tawakkalna” application, which can be used for official means, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.

The project, which will include the national identity for Saudi citizens and the resident identity for non-Saudis on the app, is part of the Kingdom’s effort to digitize government identification documents, SPA said.

The Tawakkalna app was launched in May 2020 by Saudi Arabia to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. It was developed through the close cooperation between the Ministry of Health and SDAIA.

SPA reported that the digital ID project aims “to enhance integration between government agencies as part of efforts to enable digital transformation,” in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 Program.

The interior ministry said that the Tawakkalna digital identity acts as an official document approved for citizens and residents’ identification, adding that it is identical to the digital identity in the Ministry of Interior’s “Absher” application.