IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

The portal allows citizens to access more than 40 services – a number that will grow, Sherzod Shermatov, deputy chairman of the State Committee for Communications, Information and Telecommunication Technologies, said. They include registering for internet and phone service and obtaining tax receipts.

The Senate of Oliy Majlis (upper house of the parliament) of Uzbekistan approved the law on electronic government at the fourth plenary session.

This normative act is aimed at further improving the efficiency of activities of state bodies, improving the system of provision of public services to the population, individuals and legal entities through the expanded use of information and communication technologies (ICT), senator, member of the Senate Committee on Legislation, Judicial and Legal Affairs of Uzbekistan Tolibjon Madumarov said.

It aims to improve the issuing and renewal of passports, as well as travel documents for stateless people, in accordance with international standards and requirements.

Reports also indicate that the country plans to introduce biometric passports from 2011.

The new biometric scanners are capable of recording an individual's biometric features in one pass through the machine, double-checking them and printing the information into a passport book, TradingMarkets.com reports.

The first stage of the program, which will begin in 2011, will focus on creating biometric passports for government workers, individuals travelling abroad and select citizens.

The Ministry for Information Technologies and Communications of Uzbekistan and Ministry of Public Administration and Security of South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding on establishment of the bilateral group of experts for cooperation in e-government and digital economy.

The document was signed by Minister for Information Technologies and Communications Shukhrat Sadikov and Minister of Public Administration and Security Chin Young.

Under the resolution, the main objectives and activities of the first center are developing strategy for development of e-government, as well as those based on the analysis of global trends and experience of foreign countries, providing a unified technological approach in the formation of the system.

The Legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan considered the draft law “On electronic government” of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the first reading, said the message of the lower chamber of the Uzbek Parliament.

The MPs, having considered the draft law, said that its adoption will promote to a clear definition of the basic directions of implementation of the system “Electronic government”, the increased use of information technologies in activity of state bodies in the interaction with citizens, organizations, enhancing efficiency, transparency and openness of activity of bodies of public administration.

According to the decree the ministry is being established on the basis of the State Committee of Communication, Informatization and Telecommunication Technologies.

"It is hard to overestimate the occurred changes in social, political and economic spheres of the country since independence. For the past years, Uzbekistan became a member of several international organizations. One of them is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It is established that the Member States of this prestigious organization switch to biometric passports from 2010. Today, more than one hundred countries around the globe practice biometric passports, and those include Uzbekistan.

Starting a business in Uzbekistan now only takes 15 minutes.

Ever since the government launched a business-friendly website at the beginning of the year, small-business people have been able to register a new company without having to wait several months or to collect heaps of various documents.

The preamble of the document states that it was accepted "in an attempt to further improve the procedure of registration, issuance and exchange of passport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as travel documents for stateless persons in the light of contemporary international standards and requirements."

The decree approved the position of passport system and provision of biometric travel document to stateless persons.

According to the document, the State Committee for communications, information and communication technology of the country has developed and will launch a single portal of interactive public services which will operate as part of the state portal and in the single window mode as well.

The President decided to reconsider the curriculum of colleges and high schools, removing the traditional methods of learning and increasing the amount of practice and the use of ICT.

The inspection was carried out by special commissions. It revealed that there are serious shortcomings while recruiting teaching staff at professional colleges and academic lyceums.

Under the decree, starting from April the Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) and its regional branches will hold refresher courses for the public bodies' employees on using computers and the Internet, as well as, for the mastery of modern ICT, according to the Uzbek State Committee for Communication, Informatization and Telecommunication Technologies.

Uzbekistan is working to upgrade its e-government capabilities in order to better connect with its citizens and businesses through a "single window" website-based approach that would offer government services, streamline processes and share information, officials told Central Asia Online last week.

"The first step on the road to an e-government system is to create a website for every government agency, including those in local governments," said Khurshid Mirzokhidov, chairman of the State Committee for Communication, Informatisation and Telecommunication Technologies.

The Uzbek cabinet wants better government websites than the ones it has seen so far.

"The main problem is a lack of skilled system administrators to run the websites," Salimjon Faizullayev, manager of the government's ZiyoNet educational clearing-house website, noted. "Also, some high-ranking officials consider their agencies' websites an 'excessive burden.'"

The training course was organized by the Communication and Information Agency of Uzbekistan and UNDP ICTP project "Assisting the government of Uzbekistan in the formulation and implementation of ICT for development policy".

Approximately 150 participants from 3 regions of Uzbekistan, representing various government institutions, departments, agencies, and local businesses, took part in these events.

The bank is taking part in this system by means of realization and implementation of the project called 'Clearing system for real-time calculation of retail payments, taking into account the further integration with the service providers' billing systems, according to the bank's message.

This project has been included into the projects list of the electronic government's information systems complex, said the message.

Kim, formerly the South Korean first deputy minister of public administration and security, will serve as deputy chairman of the Uzbek committee.