IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Penitentiary Service of Armenia had envisaged introducing the e-penitentiary electronic governance system (“Information Register for Detainees and Convicts”) under the 2019-23 Strategy on the Penitentiary and Probation Sectors of Armenia and the 2019-23 Action Plan in order to increase effectiveness of the activities of the Penitentiary Service, reduce document circulation and ensure effective, transparent and accountable governance in line with the trends for the development of innovative technologies, as reported the Public Relations Department of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

“All the citizens can have 2 types of passports internal ID cards and external for international visits. The latter will be the same by their appearance will be the same as the present passports the only difference will be the chip inserted inside the last page of the passport which will give the personal information”, said A. Margaryan.

During presentation of the project at a venture conference as part of the Scientific and Technological Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) Hrant Khachatryan said that works on the project development have lasted for two years, while the project is half-implemented.

5 aid stations of Armenia’s rural communities will be connected to telehealth network as part of the test launch in cooperation with UNICOMP company.

“Currently two e-services operate in the tax sphere: electronic accountings and electronic tax counting system. The customers present their information through these two services. One should have e-signature to work in the sphere,” Abelyan said.

The sides discussed issues on improvement of bilateral relations, the Armenian NSC press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Arthur Baghdasaryan stressed the two states have great potential for cooperation in different spheres and expressed hope that the Ambassador will contribute to expansion of friendly relations between two countries.

Norayr Muradkhanyan said that all the citizens who are 16 and are receiving a passport for the first time will be issued those pasports. Citizens who already have a passport, can use them until expiration or change them if they so desire.

To note, biometric passports and identification cards are being issued in Armenia ever since July 1. A total of 61 passport divisions function in Armenia, and 13 of them are in the capital, Yerevan.

According to the Chief of the Passport and Visa Department of RA Police Norayr Muradkhanyan, the implementation of biometric/electronic passports will help avoid a number of problems at checkpoints.

The electronic passports include the same information as the current passports plus the fingerprints. ID cards will be used inside the country, while the biometric passports are necessary for leaving abroad.

E-governance was said to be high not only on the government’s agenda, but also on President Serzh Sargsyan’s electoral program. It seeks to enhance the transparency of government activities and offers simplified services to the business circles. According to David Sargsyan, first urban development-related applications have already been filed online via the system of e-governance, press service of Armenian Government reports.

“Even though this system has been proposed by entitled bodies of the European Union [EU], and the proposal has been confirmed by a number of international documents regulating the partnership between Armenia and EU, the Republic of Armenia was also interested in the introduction of this system, because it gives an opportunity [to citizens of Armenia] to enjoy a more alleviated visa regime while travelling to EU member countries,” Kocharyan said, adding that the new passports will decrease the possibility of committing passport fraud, as well as will simplify the identification process of a person, and the so-called, personae non gratae will be found more easily.

Under the modernization program, a system of exchange of information between 12 large information systems has been implemented, which means that all main information systems have been interconnected.

Social security cards are expected to come out of use after the implementation of documents with biometric data. Their number will be posted on ID cards and biometric passports.

“The forum participants will discuss opportunities of cooperation between Armenian and Russian IT companies, ways for entering new markets and attracting foreign capital and education initiatives,” he said.

Armenia and Iran will explore the opportunities to create a joint smart city.

The issue was discussed during a meeting between Armenia’s acting Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan and an Iranian delegation led by Mehdi Eliassi, Vice President for Science and Technology, which also comprised Deputy Minister of Communications, Chairman of the Information Technology Organization Amir Nazemi Ashani, members of the Iranian Parliament, representatives of a number of large Iranian companies.

According to Hrant Khachatryan, radio engineer of Simotech company, if the project is approved, a telemedicine pilot will be launched in Armenia next year. The network will be comprised of 3 fixed (in Yerevan and regions) and 3 mobile nodes, equipped with technology and having satellite communication. The working group of Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation was involved in negotiations.

This initiative, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, dates back to 2004 when the Fund pioneered a pilot project in telemedicine. Since 2004, Karabakh Telecom has generously provided free, high-speed internet access to the newly built polyclinic in Stepanakert, connecting the biggest healthcare hub in Karabakh to the international medical community.

Telemedicine as a field is relatively new to the healthcare community. The tool has been widely utilized to overcome challenges of time and distance when it comes to prompt and precise medical diagnosis and information exchange.

The testing of Mobile ID (mID) system has been launched in Armenia today. It is an efficient, secure tool for person identification, as well as for signing of any e-documents online.

Mobile ID will be available to a limited number of users and e-service providers while in the test mode.

Armenia has moved seven positions up in the Network Readiness Index (NRI) to take the 58th place among 143 countries, Yerevan-based economy and values think tank said today.

NRI, produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD and Cornel University annually, measures the preparedness of an economy to use ICT to boost competitiveness and well-being and tracks the development of ICTs around the world.

The report assesses the digital ecosystems of 143 developed and developing countries — accounting for more than 98 per cent of the world’s GDP.

“Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy,” wrote Franz Kafka in The Metamorphosis. Though these words were meant to convey protagonist Gregor’s disappointment in his company’s management ethics, they serve equally well as words of caution to Armenia’s new bureaucrats.

Armenia’s Velvet Revolution was won on the pledge of increasing the quality of life, job creation and economic growth. Now, with revolutionary zeal slowly eroding, the incoming government is left with the unenviable task of delivering on promises. To achieve this aim, it must tackle its Kafkaesque bureaucratic apparatus.

According to local media, a total of eight international organisations have bid for the tender to produce the documents.

Citizens will be able to receive their new documents from September 2011. The passports will contain the holder’s full name, date and place of birth, photograph and fingerprints. The eID cards will hold an electronic signature instead of fingerprints.