Azerbaijan president approves 2025-2027 digital ID, govt strategy

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has issued a decree activating the “Digital Development Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” a document which outlines the country’s roadmap for the development of a digital ID and digital government ecosystem.

The president’s decree, signed on January 16, was announced by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport which is the implementing agency of the strategy.

Specifically, the concept has been designed to meet three principal goals: ensure the full digitization of the public administration by integrating advanced technologies in governance operations, advance economic development by creating a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as human capital development by promoting digital literacy and encouraging training in ICT fields relevant to the development of the country’s digital economy.

The strategy generally aims to make Azerbaijan a digital society where access to public and private sector services is streamlined and facilitated by a digital ID system that also simplifies verification and authentication processes.

Going by the strategy, identity and document verification will be done through a digital ID system, which will involve the issuance of digital IDs to citizens. This idea, authorities say, is to secure ID and document verification which has faced several challenges in the past, as well as enable access to services across many sectors using a digital identity.

On the whole, the Ministry of Digital Development notes that the concept envisages the creation of “a sustainable digital ecosystem that benefits all segments of society, ensures the widespread use of digital technologies and the promotion of innovation.” These include cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and data services.

This will be done through various actions including creating cyber-awareness, training of specialists in ICTs, and establishing useful partnerships and collaborative frameworks between the public and private sectors in order to create the enabling environment for a transition from a paper-based to a fully digital system.

The Digital Development Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan was developed with assistance from the World Bank and is part of actions to further the country’s digital transformation.

The concert is envisaged to be implemented between 2025 and 2027, beginning with the drafting of legal and regulatory frameworks for the digital ID system.

Specialized working groups are expected to be put in place, and to get to work immediately. Before then, however, the cabinet is expected to draft and propose a plan for pilot projects to have an idea of how the digital government and digital ID solutions will work, Tech.az reports. Findings of the feasibility will be submitted to the president for appraisal, before proceeding with a rollout at scale.

Azerbaijan says it plans to have at least one million people use digital IDs by the end of 2026.

Article Topics

Azerbaijan  |  biometric authentication  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  legislation  |  mygov (Azerbaijan)