Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani electronic government portal will now be available on the cloud, according to Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies Elmir Velizade.

Velizade says Azerbaijan's main efforts are now focused on the use of modern technology so that the ICT sector could contribute to the development of the country in a short period.

“This sector is known to be a priority in Azerbaijan, and serious attention is given to it. For us, it is encouraging that in the framework of the first European Games, we were also able to demonstrate the potential of Azerbaijan in the field of ICT. It is equally important that a large role in this issue played Azerbaijani experts. However, of course, we need to look to the future, and today there is a need in the application of new solutions in many areas. In particular, today the country has successfully implemented the project of e-Government. For us it is very important to transfer the implementation of the solution into the cloud platform,” said Velizade.

The deputy minister said that the demand for professionals in this regard is that they are mastering the latest technology, trying to apply them to Azerbaijan.

The main objective of the application of cloud technology is to reduce costs, improve the quality of services to citizens and information security.

The e-gov portal is a key tool for supporting citizens, businesses and private sectors of the country. It aims to reduce the number of documents requested from citizens because different government bodies interact with each other electronically.

Access to the portal is carried out using a digital signature, the identity data of the private entrepreneurs and citizens, verification data, as well as a mobile authentication system, which can be obtained after registration on the portal.

The portal, launched in Azerbaijan in 2013, now offers about 400 e-services through 45 government agencies. Over one million citizens are active users of e-services in state agencies.

Moreover, the e-government portal allows for the provision of e-services to citizens of foreign countries.

All services provided by Azerbaijani government agencies are expected to be online by 2020.

Soon, the e-gov portal will also be available in a mobile version, which is essential for a country whereby mobile phone penetration stands at 112 percent.

The portal will also receive a function for convenient online payments via the Automated Payment Utility Service.

The objectives of the project are to increase the use of non-cash payments, simplifying the process of budget payments, and the integration of e-government projects with the infrastructure of the national payment system.

Moreover, subscribers of fixed and mobile communications in the near future will be able to receive statements of their expenses for telecommunications services through the portal.

In addition, a service for issuing certificates for central credit register will be available soon.

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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

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