IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

The agreement was signed in Vilnius on 23 November 2012. The Foreign Ministry was instructed to send a notification about Belarus' fulfillment of the domestic procedures required for this agreement to come into force.

The timetable database, which is to go live on 15 February, comprises 13 electronic route timetables, of six Belarusian regions, six regional urban centres and the city of Minsk. The timetables allow users to choose the most convenient routes, to check prices, schedules and travel times.

According to him, the citizens will be able to timely get any service either a certificate of state registration of real estate or an extract from the Unified State Register of legal entities or individual entrepreneurs, BelTAinforms.

Despite the fact that almost half the population has access to the Internet (in Belarus, circa 5 million Internet users aged 15 - 74 years), only a small fraction of users uses e-services. The main reason is a low level of awareness about e-services. Most citizens are not aware of the services they can receive electronically. E-Belarus.org experts also note low e-literacy among government officials.

According to Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, Estonia would like to increase awareness within Belarusian civil society of e-governance, opportunities to utilise information and communications technology, and cyber security. “Through sharing Estonia’s experiences in e-governance, we can help to develop the civil society of Belarus,” he stated.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) forum “Smart Sustainable Cities: Organizational and Technical Aspects of Development” is taking place at Beltelecom's international switching center on 16-18 March, BelTA has learned.

Taking part in the event are representatives of the ITU, government, regional authorities and also major institutions of science and education. Speakers from Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, experts from the Green Cities Project, UNDP, specialists of Belarus' major companies will share the practical experience and suggest ways of building a smart sustainable city.

A seminar on using e-government technologies held in Minsk was attended by almost the entire line-up of the Council of Ministers. The participants analysed the implementation of state informatisation programmes and thoroughly studied international experience in using modern information and communication technologies in public administration.

In recent years, Belarus has made a real breakthrough in this sphere, as pointed out by experts from the United Nations, Estonia, Lithuania, as well as the global hi-tech leader Israel.

Companies of the Republic of Korea will help Belarus develop the systems of paperless trade and electronic archives. This information was placed on the website of the Communications and Informatization Ministry after the visit of the representatives of Kiny & Partners, KTNET, and Ahnlab to Belarus, BelTA has learned.

These companies will implement projects in the Belarusian- South Korean center of cooperation in information technologies. The main objective of the center is the provision of help to Belarus in the development of the information society taking into account the experience of South Korea in the application of cutting-edge technologies. In particular, it is planned to exchange experience, provide technical assistance and organize consultations to promote the development of the information society and implement projects to design and apply e-government technologies.

Belarus has an interest in developing a national paperless trade system in cooperation with the Korea Trade Network company (KTNET), Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said as he met with KTNET Director General Jin-Hyun Han on 9 June, BelTA has learned.

According to Vladimir Semashko, promotion of relations with Seoul is of great importance for Belarus. The Republic of Korea is ranked 1st in the global ICT Development Index. “ICT development is one of Belarus' major goals. We hope that South Korean partners will help Belarus' e-government and paperless trade system emerge,” the deputy prime minister remarked. The South Korean side has already explored current Belarus' potential for establishing a national paperless trade system and nearly accomplished a feasibility study of the project.

Thanks to the Internet, economic courts are open to the public. The Supreme Economic Court was the first to hold live webcasts of its proceedings. Online court sessions are one of the innovations. This is one of the oldest sites of the Belarusian government agencies. During 13 years, it has changed both design and content. The current version is the 4th in succession.

The programme is aimed at integration of the educational institutions into a unified information sphere; at creating new informational and educational resources and at modernization of the whole system. It is planned to allocate Br78,6 bln. (28MEUR) for a four years programme.

Belarus wants to be a link between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. It is using its geographic location and economic advantages to attract more foreign investors. One of the key advantages is its pool of young specialists.

Sergei Popkov, Belarusian minister of Communications and Informatisation, spoke to Nikodem Chinowski. They discussed the government’s priorities for the implementation of internet solutions to business and the rapid dissemination of internet access among young Belarusians.

Belarusian and foreign experts, including Alexander Danilin from Microsoft Russia and Andrei Marusov, director of the Ukrainian Information Development Agency, participated in the discussion.

The analysis shows that 40 percent of the country’s 1,409,780 Internet users are governmental officials. Around 14 percent of Belarusians are now online, with a bias towards younger and urban users. Meanwhile, 68 (out of about 200, or almost one third) of the Belarusian governmental institutions have their own websites.

The European Union named the electronic government of Korea the world’s best in 2010 and 2012. It is an incontrovertible fact that Korea’s electronic government is the best one in the world, said the Korea Information Certificate Authority CEO.