By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova 

E-government services significantly contribute to the transition to the digital government in Azerbaijan as well as to the provision of social services to the citizens.

The national certification center issued 9,832 certificates of electronic signature in January-March 2019, said the Information Computing Center under Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan.

Over 6,776 e-signature certificates were issued to state agencies, 1,920 - to legal entities and 246 - to individuals.

As of April 1, the total number of e-signature certificates since the beginning of the issuance was 176,724 (98,044 for state agencies, 43,480 for legal entities, 35,200 for individuals).

Meanwhile, the number of e-signature transactions continues to grow. So far, the total number of e-signature authentication operations performed by state agencies has exceeded 35.93 million times, and by legal entities and individuals - 10.2 million times.

The total number of operations carried out since the launch of the system has exceeded 46.1 million times.

It should be noted that the National Certification Center issued over 39,700 e-signature certificates in 2018, which is almost 50 percent more than in 2017. Over 15,200 were issued to state agencies, 14,900 - to legal entities and about 9,600 - to individuals.

The cost of an e-signature with a three-year period of use for Azerbaijani citizens is 18 manats ($10.6), while the cost of e-signatures for individuals and legal entities engaged in entrepreneurial activities is 36 manats ($21) and 72 manats ($42), respectively, and for government employees - 58 manats ($34).

Currently, negotiations are underway for the recognition of national e-signature in EU countries. Moreover, the activation of e-signature certificates in new identity cards in Azerbaijan is expected in the near future.

E-signature simplifies the access of citizens to the electronic services of state institutions, which are available on the "Electronic Government" portal (e-gov.az).

The "Electronic Government" provides information and e-services to all citizens, legal entities and individuals, foreign citizens and stateless persons living in the territory of Azerbaijan through state-of-the-art information technologies.

The e-government portal is a key tool for supporting work with citizens and enterprises in the public and private sectors. It aims to reduce the number of documents requested from citizens, as different bodies interact with each other electronically.

Launched in 2013, the portal currently offers about 450 e-services of 45 government agencies. Over one million citizens are active users of e-services of the state agencies.