IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

The confirmation follows the completion of legislative preparations in November 2011.

The Armenian government today approved the country’s Digitalization Strategy.

The executive says the development of high technologies plays a decisive role in the competitiveness, security and living standards of the state.

The strategy envisages digital transformation of the Government, the economy and the society through introduction and development of innovative technologies, cyber security, data policy and e-services and e-government systems, coordination of digitalization processes, creation of common standards and digital environment, as well as initiatives promoting the use of digital technologies in the private sector of the economy and the development and implementation of programs promoting the use of electronic tools by the public.

According to the press office of the Secretary of National Security Council, an inter-agency working group will elaborate a concept of introduction of e-governance within a three-year Armenia-EU program by September 2010.

The ID card represent a plastic card, which includes complete information about its owner and can be used in all spheres of public life.

Armenian Health Minister Derenik Dumanyan said at the proposal made by India implies cooperation with an IT company.

Earlier, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Manasaryan said India had already chosen a company, and on Armenian side, the health ministry will be involved in the deal and one of Armenian IT companies.

“An identification center will be established in the Police,” Ghulyan said during a discussion of the program on Electronic Society and Innovations for Stimulating Competitiveness.

He added that there are 61 registration centers in Armenia and all of them will be equipped with modern facilities and software.

The new data portal (www.e-gov.am) will function alongside the government’s official website (www.gov.am). Among the options it offers is also a tool for “Interactive Budget” to find detailed information about and track changes in the government spending of public money. Unlike the official website run in Armenian, English and Russian, the E-government site is only available for reading in Armenian.

Addressing the gathering, Tigran Sargsyan stated in part: “First of all, the new system will help enhance efficiency and productivity in government activities providing for transparency and proper control on the part of society which will get access to public governance. On the one hand, they will be allowed to keep track of decision-making processes and on the other hand, they will have a possibility to follow up and check the status of their letters, petitions, applications, licensing requests at any stage of processing.”

According to Antony Jagus, Programme Director in charge of the implementation, the initital project will be finished by the end of 2005. Following successful implementation the model will be deployed throughout the whole Armenian government. The project creates a single government network, computerising paper-based procesess, and retraining government users.

On October 4, Armenian Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan said that the Armenian government has approved a bill on introduction of amendments to the RA Law on Licensing, Tax Code and 14 laws, under which the types of licenses and procedure for their obtainment is reduced.

The bills were planned to be adopted till January 1, 2012, as they will be put in circulation starting from next year.

Moreover, passport offices of the Armenian Police plan to equip the system of collection and identification of electronic data.

The project aims to create a telemedicine connection between a primary health care facility in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), and AATM central office, Yerevan, Armenia.

Endorsed by the Government of NKR and conducted in association with the Union of Information Technology Enterprises of Armenia (UITE) and telemedicine R&D company Symotec LLC, the project is the second of this kind in Armenia.

The content for the introduction of e-passports was held October 27 to December 10, 2010. Eight foreign companies participated in the contest.

“Getting biometric passports is the right of citizens, not an obligation,” Head of the Passports and Visa Department of RA Police Hovhannes Kocharyan told a press conference today.

The old passports will stay in use, no deadline has been set for their expiration, Kocharyan informed.

A new platform to facilitate the attraction of foreign investment - armenia.eregulations.org -was launched in Armenia, the press service of the Business Armenia Foundation reported on Friday.

It said the electronic platform was created with the funding of Austrian Development Agency in cooperation with Business Armenia and the United Nations Development Program

The Centre for Strategic Initiatives (CSI), with the support of the EU funded project on Development and Strategic Studies, had organized a two-day workshop on Armenia’s Digital Transformation Agenda, which took place 9-10 September, the CSI told Armenpress.

The objective of the workshop was to kick start the project on the Development of Armenia’s Digital Transformation Strategy. The key focus of the workshop was to prepare an outline of the strategy document based on the situation in Armenia, country’s needs and following international trends in digital transformation.

He also added that the ID will include a citizen’s electronic data archive set by the law. While biometric passports will include a citizen’s personal data, including a digital photo, a signature, finger prints. As a matter of fact, protection of the data is secured. Those documents also will simplify the process of granting visas. Citizens are free to apply for the modern documents.

As the Police of Armenia told Armenpress, in case of leaving for abroad citizens can also obtain a passport with biometric data as a travel document.

The identification card will contain an electronic database, individual cryptographic keys, electronic digital signature and certificates for identity.