An official from the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the country has managed to provide all necessary arrangements for the Arab summit to be held paperless, which he considered "a precedent in the history of Arab summits." The Director of Modernization of Diplomatic Work at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aqba Chabi, mentioned that this summit "is the first paperless summit, which is a precedent in the history of Arab summits," explaining that "the project was developed and implemented after Egypt's experience through the General Secretariat of the Arab League in meetings at the foreign ministers' level, which were also held paperless."
He pointed out that "Algeria has made significant progress in the fields of digital transformation and the use of information and communication technologies, allowing it to provide all necessary conditions for the Algeria 2022 summit to be the first paperless Arab summit." He clarified that "in the past months, a working group from various ministerial sectors was formed to consider the possibility of materializing this idea, which led to the development and implementation of the project."
Regarding the objective of this initiative, Chabi revealed that "previous summits witnessed the use of about one to one and a half tons of paper in all summit meetings, where approximately 150 copies were distributed to the attending officials at each meeting." He noted that "providing such a huge amount of paper, along with printing equipment and human resources, not to mention the time and costs involved in the process, prompted the idea of digitizing the operation and holding a paperless summit, which Algeria had the honor of hosting."
As for the digital alternatives provided, he stated that "all four preparatory meetings were held paperless, and all the software was fully operational." He highlighted that "high-tech computers were provided for all participating delegations, containing drafts and draft decisions, allowing delegations to track changes. All logistical preparations for the summit were mobilized to preserve natural resources, enable document storage and archiving, and conduct electronic signatures."
