Program for 2013-2015 development of e-government developed in Azerbaijan

By AzerNews

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan has developed a draft State program for the development of "e-government" 2013-2015, Isfandiyar Aliyev, head of strategic development at the Communications and IT Ministry said on Monday.

According to Aliyev, the project was submitted to the government, and works on the implementation of all activities envisaged by it will begin upon its approval.

"The program is expected to be approved in June 2013," Aliyev said.

The new program is continuation of the state program on developing the ICT sector in Azerbaijan in 2010-2012.

The program is aimed to create the e-government, develop the methods of management by means of implementing modern information and communication technologies in state bodies, providing e-services, as well as taking comprehensive measures to provide simplified and free access of citizens and organizations to such services.

The e-government project, which mostly covers the government sector, is an integral part of the broad "electronic Azerbaijan" idea.

The establishment and development of the e-government in Azerbaijan will encourage fruitful work of the state bodies, guarantee its transparency and reduce bureaucracy.

The e-government targets to reduce poverty, provide suitable conditions for the population's prosperity and address the issues reflected in the state program on poverty reduction and sustainable development in 2008-2015.

Gabala city, some 225 km from Baku, hosted the fifth anniversary International Scientific Conference on "E-government: innovations in customs" on May 6-7. Some 102 representatives from 55 world countries attended it.

The conference was held to discuss the global practice in developing and using the e-government, modern forms of cooperation between public organizations in the field of e-governance, using the information and communication technologies in the field of customs and other areas of the economy, as well as examining the current situation on innovative methods of governance and exchanging the experience in this area.

Chairman of the State Customs Committee, lieutenant-general of the customs service Aydin Aliyev, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Elmir Velizade, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Resident Representative of the UN Development Program Antonius Broek, head of the European Regional Office for Capacity Building of the World Customs Organization Vitali Mikeladze attended the opening ceremony of the conference.

2013 was declared the Year of ICT in Azerbaijan and the ICT University was established under a presidential order on February 2.

President Ilham Aliyev also approved the regulations on the State Fund for IT Development and the Action Plan on the Year of ICT in Azerbaijan. According to the action plan, it is planned to develop an ICT strategy, improve the registration procedure of the national domain .az, and significantly reduce fees for telecommunication services and internet access.