Kuwait's unified government e-services app Sahel was named best comprehensive government app at the GCC Digital Government Award, while its 'Newborn Journey' service received an excellence award in the best government digital service category.

The winners were announced on Wednesday evening at the award's seventh edition in Bahrain. Bahraini Interior Minister Lt Gen Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, who chairs the GCC Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology, and GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi attended the ceremony and honoured the winners.

Omar Al-Omar, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Affairs and Acting Minister of Information and Culture, told KUNA on Thursday that the double win reflected Kuwait's progress in developing digital government services. He dedicated the achievement to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, citing their continuous support for digital transformation.

Al-Omar said the awards validated Sahel's shift from individual services to integrated digital journeys built around citizens' needs. The Newborn Journey links seven bodies, including the ministries of justice, health, interior, and commerce and industry, the Public Authority for Civil Information, the Public Authority for Manpower and the Civil Service Commission. He added that the app would keep expanding its journeys and draw on artificial intelligence and proactive services.

Col Bashar Al-Sayed Hashem, head of Sahel's executive committee, said the platform now hosts services from 42 government bodies. Committee member Fajr Al-Yaseen said the Newborn Journey spares families from dealing with each agency separately, while member Amina Abdulrahim credited system integration and data sharing for cutting duplicated procedures and documents.

Sahel previously received a special honour at the Arab Government Excellence Award and won the Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award in 2025.