On 25 and 26 July 2023, the Innovation and Digital Development Agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH) jointly held an expert workshop titled "Digital Government Development in Azerbaijan." The event brought together local and foreign experts to examine the challenges, collaborations, and outlooks related to digital government development. It played the role of a platform where they could share their ideas, knowledge, and experiences in digital government applications.
The opening ceremony featured the speeches by Inara Valiyeva, Acting Chair of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency; Alikhan Baimenov, Chairman of the Astana Civil Service Hub; Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of the United Nations Digital Government; and Natalia Mochu, ITU Regional Director.
Later on, Azerbaijan's experience in the development of digital government, along with its achievements, future plans, implementation of "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development," and progress towards becoming a regional leader were discussed.
On the next day of the two-day event, influential international experts in the field shared their experiences in areas such as digital government strategies for improving citizen services and promoting cooperation between public and private sectors for comprehensive digital transformation. The Chief of the UN Digital Government, Vincenzo Aquaro, shared the main highlights of the 2022 E-Government Questionnaire, which encompasses global, regional, and national trends in the field. During interactive sessions, foreign experts presented successful digital government research examples from different countries of the world.
The primary objective of the workshop was to gather various stakeholders and industry experts, raise awareness of Azerbaijan's digital government efforts, and demonstrate the nation's commitment to being a pioneer in digitization.
The delegation of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and influential international experts in the field of digital government, who came to Azerbaijan as part of the workshop, met and visited a few companies and agencies. On the first day of the visit, the delegation had a meeting with the Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev. They were provided with detailed information about Azerbaijan's significant achievements in the field of digital government. They then visited the Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Center and reviewed the facility. In addition, the delegation visited the ASAN Service Center and reviewed the actions implemented in the e-government field.