Friday, 10 April 2009
The Information Technology Development Support Council (ITDSC) met under the chairmanship of of council head, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
The Council discussed the course of implementation of the assignments given at the previous session, the objections raised by the working group on legal regulation concerning Article 9 of the RA law on defense, the package of proposals on customs legislation and administration reform.
Information on the course of implementation of over ten assignments given at the previous session was presented by RA Minister of Economy Nerces Yeritsyan and the heads of working groups of the Council. In particular, the Council took notice of the report submitted by the head of the Strategic Policy working group stating that the realization of those programs stipulated in the 2010-2011 program of action on introduction of a system of electronic government in state agencies has been discussed with the corresponding working groups. It was proposed to transfer part of the programs into the list of 2009 and prepare a 3-year program on decision of the mentioned question. According to the speaker, it will enable to have by the end of this year a functional system of electronic government with real development opportunities in line with international standards. The council also took note of the report submitted by the head of the working group on science and education on the creation of an ethnic Armenian business-specialized network. The prime minister instructed to prepare a corresponding analytical report on this issue which should also be sent off to the National Competitiveness Council for consideration as it enables to mobilize municipalities quickly and without great charges, which is especially important amidst the global financial and economic crisis. As for another assignment concerning the establishment of an international presidential award for significant discoveries and best works in the sphere of information technologies, it has been reported that the question has been given a favorable consideration which is supposed to promote development in the sphere of information technologies in our country.
As a result of discussions, the Prime Minister stressed the need for continuing the debates on a number of agenda items and called for consistency in their decision.
On the second question of the agenda concerning the objections regarding Article 9 of the law on defense, it was decided to continue discussing the question with the public services regulatory commission and to report back the results to the Council.
The Council also discussed a package of proposals on reforming the customs legislation and administration, prepared by the Union of IT Enterprises on the basis of the EIF-drafted analysis - report entitled “The IT sector business and regulatory framework in the Republic of Armenia” and the proposals of IT companies. The package which comprises import/export-related issues was said to have been discussed with about 50 enterprises, as well as with the State Revenue Committee by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
The prime minister instructed Director of the Union of IT Enterprises Karen Vardanyan in a week’s time to collect and present all those questions of concern to IT companies and forward them to the State Revenue Committee. The latter was charged to present in a week’s time official comments on the questions raised in order to hold an extra discussion at the next meeting, if necessary.
Among other agenda items, the Council discussed actions aimed at enhancing the international rating of our country in the sphere of information technologies. It was noted that despite the large amount of work done over the last few years, Armenia’s rating has fallen according to the World economic forum. As a remedy, the speakers pointed out the need for improving coordination of information flows, enabling greater access to information technologies for the public at large, taking into effect the Computer for Everybody Program, improving the quality of services provided in this sphere. The RA Minister of Science and Education was told to examine the Estonian experience and submit opinion for discussion at the next council session. Also, the Public Services Regulatory Commission was proposed to discuss the possibility of establishing a mandatory electronic payments system for public service providing entities.
At the end of the session, Minister of Economy Nerces Yeritsyan advised that a representative forum on the shaping of the electronic society will be organized in the third quarter of this year with the view of stimulating the IT sector and making it more accessible to the society.
