Bahrain’s Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) has launched an updated Open Government Data Policy designed to streamline public access to state information and bring the kingdom’s digital framework in line with international standards. The update introduces machine-readable formats like JSON and GeoJSON and establishes a new licensing framework to encourage entrepreneurs and researchers to use government data for smart city and IoT applications.

The “Version 2.0” policy also implements a “Data Request Procedure,” allowing the public to propose new datasets and evaluate existing ones, while requiring government entities to adopt global metadata exchange standards such as SDMX.

Dr. Khalid Almutawa, iGA Deputy CE of Operations and Governance, said the revisions ensure compliance with Bahrain’s personal data protection laws while meeting the criteria of the United Nations e-Government Development Index. The government is encouraging developers and researchers to utilise the expanded portal to create new applications, part of a broader push to improve Bahrain’s regional competitiveness through transparency.