Government and Private Institutions Showcase their Experiences and Plans at the International Scientific Conference on Digital Transformation and its Implications for Sustainable Development

The conference, organized by the Faculty of Economics at Damascus University, focused on several topics, including modeling and measurement in digital transformation, and the digital transformation strategy in the government sector, with presentations of their experiences in this field.

From the Ministry of Communications and Technology, the Deputy Minister for Digital Transformation, Dr. Mohammed Mohammed, presented the digital transformation strategy for government services in Syria, discussing its programs, components, and implemented projects. This strategy sets a general framework until 2030, encompassing a range of programs and projects implemented within all government entities under the ministry's supervision. Dr. Mohammed highlighted the challenges that may arise during implementation, such as technological sanctions, a shortage of qualified personnel due to their migration to the private sector, and other issues related to the lack of complete data availability. These challenges are taken into consideration when executing projects to overcome them.

Mr. Monther Wannous, the Director of the Tax and Fees Authority, shed light on the work of the Ministry of Finance regarding taxes and its supervisory role over the Tax and Fees Authority. He discussed the tax system reform plan and the amendments related to unified income tax and value-added tax. He also addressed the relationship between the tax system reform plan and digital transformation. Mr. Wannous presented the digital transformation projects within the tax administration, their objectives, and how these projects provide services and contribute to enhancing the tax system reform process. Additionally, the Ministry's experiences related to real estate sales, electronic linkage, and the electronic invoicing plan in partnership with the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection were presented.

Dr. Ghassan Sakt, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Aleppo University, presented an applied scientific study titled "Predicting the Performance of Emerging Financial Markets Using Neural Networks (NAR_NARX)". The study discussed the use of artificial intelligence techniques to develop an information system capable of supporting intelligent decision-making and harnessing these techniques to support investment decisions in general. The study utilized research, modeling methods, and artificial intelligence techniques to develop a model capable of predicting the performance of emerging financial markets through the MSCI index.

Dr. Mohammed Ahmed from Aleppo University discussed the impact of the digital economy on promoting economic growth in Syria. He addressed the reality of the Syrian economy and its ranking according to the Arab Digital Economy Index. The paper also adopted an appropriate standard model to estimate the mutually influential relationship between the digital economy index and economic growth index. It presented important recommendations derived from the research paper.

Dr. Doha Adas from Aleppo University spoke about the impact of digital transformation on the accounting and auditing profession in Syria and the requirements for applying and utilizing digital transformation techniques, including costs, competencies, and skills. She also touched upon the implementation of cloud accounting as a modern technique of digital transformation, which has been adopted by some Syrian companies. She highlighted the benefits of using cloud accounting for accountants to access more accurate and reliable information, benefiting investors in making investment decisions.

Dr. Mona Farhat and Dr. Sherine Deep from Damascus University and Al-Sham Private University presented a research paper on the experience of Islamic banks in Syria in the field of digital transformation to achieve financial inclusion. Dr. Farhat emphasized that the experience of Islamic banks in Syria has been outstanding in this field and has achieved significant and positive results towards financial inclusion through their substantial investments.