Georgian Delegation Attends Key Meeting at UN Headquarters

NEW YORK - For the first time in its history Georgia’s delegation to the United Nations organized and chaired a high-level meeting at the UN’s Headquarters in New York on September 19.

The meeting was supported and attended by Estonia, South Korea, Belgium and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and discussed issues related to e-governance and public service.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili spoke at the meeting and presented a report on his country’s progress with e-governance and transparency.

Kvirikashvili told the more than 30 officials who attended the meeting that Georgia plans to create transparent, inclusive institutions at all levels of government to meet the requirements of the Georgia-EU Association Agreement.

Kvirikashvili also announced the launch of a project known as Business House, which will deliver over 600 individual services to businesses in one physical and electronic space.

“The project is based on the principle of a public-private partnership and ensures the provision of services by various ministries and state agencies in one space and through single e-platform,” Kvirikashvili explained.

Georgia’s new e-governance initiative will provide all 19 ministries and 50 state agencies with internal communication and data exchange portal that will be available to all of the branches of government.

Community centers will also be created in small towns and villages to ensure their engagement in the development of the country. Public service halls will be built in Georgia’s larger urban areas for the same purpose.

 “The government wants its citizens to have free access to information as much as possible. To achieve this, we have launched an electronic communication service called Citizens' Portal. This service allows citizens to interact with the government electronically. It also allows individuals to submit requests for public information, track the request sent and received replies electronically," Kvirikashvili said.

By Thea Morrison

Edited by Nicholas Waller