The authoritative British the Financial Times published an article “Uzbekistan: e-government deepens participatory democracy and state transparency” dedicated to accelerating the development and implementation of information and communication technologies in all spheres of life of the state and society.

It describes the implementation of the Program for the development of a modern and based on best practices of e-government system for the period until 2020 which was adopted on the initiative of the first President Islam Karimov. It is reported that at this stage there have already been achieved positive results, including the functioning of the Single portal of interactive state services rendering over 290 modern services. It is noted that since the beginning of 2016 the number of applications increased by 2 times and amounted to 800 thousand. Previously, the state had to spend more resources to provide these services manually.

The publication reports that the electronic evaluation system of intervention of legislative acts has become another effective tool for citizens and business participation in public decision-making. So, through this system more than 1,400 publicly available comments and proposals have been received and more than 800 normative-legal acts half of which was taken into account when approving the regulations.

“Commissioning of the new national open data portal, which was used more than 630 thousand times, has become an important tool for the development of business start-ups. The portal includes 1750 sets of public data provided by 109 organizations”, – continues The Financial Times. The article notes that submission of tax and statistical reporting, processing of customs declarations, registration of businesses and trade names, running the system “Electronic visa” became the most popular online services. At the same time, it is effectively functioning single mechanism of electronic trading on public procurement, electronic filing of claims and applications from entrepreneurs in economic courts, by the country’s “one-stop” centers for the collection of documents when applying for government services. Thus, citizens and business entities have access to the most relevant and popular public services through monitors or smart phones.

“Today, in the country with a population of 32 million people, 60% of which are youth, cellular communication is used by 21 million, and the internet – by more than 13 million people, says the publication. As a result of large-scale measures, which were adopted in the country, Uzbekistan has significantly improved position in 2016 UN ranking of on the level of e-government development, entering the 40% of the most advanced countries of the world and took 80th place among countries that use e-government, as well as the 47th place for e-participation index which assesses the effectiveness of the government dialogue with their citizens and businesses. In Uzbekistan this indicator is on the 3rd place among the CIS countries and the first among the Central Asian countries.”

As highlighted in the article, the introduction and development of e-government in Uzbekistan built in the rank of national priority, signed more than 40 governmental decisions on the “electronic government”, developed regulatory framework outlined in the Law “On electronic government” and subsequently adopted by the Parliament of Uzbekistan.

“September 25, 2016 to create a virtual desk of the Prime Minister (pm.gov.uz), which dramatically improved the interaction of the population with the state authorities and has been part of the progressive democratization of society in Uzbekistan, says the source. Now, the population and business entities may apply directly to the Prime Minister with the unresolved problems, statements, complaints or suggestions instantly without any costs and a digital signature. The call center does not require personal information such as passport number, only the phone number is enough. ”

It is noted that the virtual desk allows you to promote gender equality among applicants, and enables people with disabilities to use the portal via the phone number and contact the call center orally. It is emphasized that the benefits of Virtual receptionist obvious. This increase in public trust and reliability, ensuring the national approach to solving problems, the implementation of reforms on the basis of “bоttom-up”, transparency and prevention of corruption. These factors, in turn, contribute to the gradual openness and transparency at all levels of power.

The Financial Times also informs about the future plans for the development of virtual reception of the Prime Minister, which include the connection of regional and subordinate units of government agencies, as well as the regional prosecutor’s offices. “This portal is intended to contribute to the improvement of institutional reform and should be a common platform for the public, as well as a friendly system for the population and businesses. With a commitment to the further development and innovation, Virtual Receptionist expects to be included in a UN report in 2018 as an exemplary model in terms of providing public services among the countries of the world,” the article says.

In conclusion the British edition emphasizes that e-government contributes to strengthening representative democracy and government transparency, and is an ongoing and dynamic driver of the bright future of Uzbekistan.

Jahon Information Agency, London