Politics
The development of the digital economy has been and remains one of the most important priorities for Armenia, Prime Minister (PHOTOS)
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the plenary session of the digital forum "Digital partnership in the new reality" in Almaty with the heads of governments of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, an observer in the EAEU.
First, the joint video-shooting ceremony of the Prime Ministers of EAEU countries took place; then, they made a short tour of the exhibition booths dedicated to the high-tech sector opened within the framework of the conference. Armenia is also represented at the exhibition with a separate pavilion.
Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a speech at the opening of the conference, in which he stated:
"Dear Colleagues,
Dear conference participants,
First, I would like to thank the Kazakh side for organizing the conference, which has become an effective platform for discussing digitalization issues and digital development perspectives.
The development of the digital economy has been and remains one of the most critical priorities for the Republic of Armenia. The turnover in the IT sector of the Republic of Armenia will increase by more than 50% in 2022, and the share of the information technology and communication sector in the GDP of Armenia is consistently growing. We provide sectoral state support to the IT business. Last year, more than 1,000 startups received significant tax benefits.
At the same time, the issue of forming a single digital space in Eurasian integration remains an essential issue for us. In this context, I want to note the modernity and significant demand for the tools of the interstate system of information exchange, the creation, and the development of digital projects with an integration effect.
One of the foundations of the digital agenda of the Union should be the widespread use of the regime of "regulatory sandboxes." Due to the application of particular legal rules of "regulatory sandboxes," the deadlines for implementation of digital transformation projects will be shortened, and the quality of submitted projects will increase, which in turn will accelerate the start of digital projects on a pan-European scale.
At the same time, it is essential to note that when creating a unified digital space, one should remember the creation of an integrated information data protection system.
In this context, the acceleration of work towards the conclusion of an international agreement on data circulation is considered particularly relevant.
Co-workers,
After our meeting in the framework of the 2021 conference in Almaty, our government adopted the five-year digitization strategy of Armenia, which defines the main directions of the formation of the country's digital economy and innovative development.
Before adopting the strategic document, we already had a lot of experience developing digital services. Still, the strategy will create a consolidated digital ecosystem in the country.
The main goals we strive for are:
1. Ensuring maximum use of information systems data and effective and operative state administration based on big data.
2. Increasing efficiency and modernizing the economy's private sector through developing platforms and digital services.
3. Supporting the development of digital skills and capacities for a wide range of the population.
At the same time, all three directions are interconnected and complementary.
The events of recent years have shown that modern challenges can instantly change the ordinary course of our lives in an undesirable direction if joint and adaptive measures are not taken. There is practically no country that can face global challenges alone. This was demonstrated, for example, by the coronavirus pandemic.
We all faced the same challenges and had to work together to overcome the consequences of the lockdown and the pandemic.
We have begun to use digital mechanisms more widely and deeply both during the pandemic and to overcome the consequences of possible crises of a similar nature in the future.
In this context, international and regional cooperation is one of the essential tools for achieving Armenia's sustainable digital development goals.
The Armenian government interacts at the interstate level and actively cooperates with the private sector and international organizations to find new digital solutions. One such solution for the Eurasian Economic Union was the "Traveling without Covid-19" mobile application, which was developed by the Eurasian Development Bank Digital Initiatives Fund and ensured the restoration of free movement of citizens between our countries.
Five million tests downloaded in the app mean 5 million trips. It is a vast number. The annex was made possible thanks to the active support of the governments of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, which launched the pilot program, which became a full-fledged project involving nine countries.
In my opinion, despite the easing of the pandemic itself and the restoration of free movement, the "Travel without Covid-19" application creates a reasonable basis for the development of cross-border digital medicine, information exchange, and digitization of "medical cards" by national requirements and with complete protection of personal data.
I propose already discussing the prospects of using the application as an "epidemiological shield" tool and a trust mechanism for transmitting medically relevant information.
Dear conference participants,
Today I would like to draw our attention to another modern digital tool that allows citizens, businesses, and government agencies of the EAEU countries to cooperate in organizing work activities in our countries. We are talking about the digital platform "Work at EATM," which was developed by the Digital Initiatives Fund within the framework of the implementation of Mikhail Mishustin.
The Russian domain of the "Job in EATM" mobile application started functioning in 2022, and I would like to inform you that today the first complete version of the national domain of the Republic of Armenia is also available in the application.
Application users can already find vacancies, respond to them, use "assistant" and "answers to frequently asked questions" services, get acquainted with regulatory information, find departments of authorized bodies, contact information, etc.
The central state digital services are already available in the Armenian national domain of the "Employment in EATM" application, for example, the e-request unified portal, which provides not only the opportunity for individuals and legal entities to send applications to more than two hundred Armenian state bodies and subordinate organizations, but also follow the process of considering the application and receiving the answer. About 60 thousand users within Armenia have already used this service, and the total number of applications has exceeded three hundred thousand.
The following digital service integrated into "Employment EATM" is a work permit. Am, through which work and residence permits in Armenia are issued. The entire process takes place based on one application submitted on the online platform.
The digital tool ensures the coordinated interaction of the five government agencies involved in this process. Based on the employment contract, citizens of EAEU countries and their family members can also receive a free card certifying the legality of residence in RA through the digital service.
The platform will be regularly updated with other government and commercial services.
Moreover, our national domain considers the specifics of our market and is not a copy of the Russian empire. Thus, we are developing the "Job at EATM" platform with a new added value.
Armenia and Russia were the first participants of the "Traveling without Covid-19" and "Working in EAEU" platforms. Our link demonstrates the effectiveness of interaction and the cumulative effect of integrating the benefits of national services. And we support the proposal of the Russian government to join the project of creating national domains and attracting highly qualified personnel to benefit the growth of our national economies and, in general, the economies of the EAEU.
Thanks for your attention".
Prime Minister Pashinyan and other heads of government also presented awards to the best participants in the forum.
