ASSA-Irada,
4, March 2008

Azerbaijan is rated 89th in the list of "best electronic governments", according to a UN report.

In the list of 192 countries, Azerbaijan follows Russia, Ukraine and Belarus but leaves behind Armenia and Georgia. Scandinavian states take the top three rankings in the list. The report suggests that the electronic services provided by the state in Azerbaijan are developing sluggishly.

Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technologies Elmir Valizada said Azerbaijan was rated 101st in the UN list in 2005. "There is dynamic progress in this area. The update of the Azerbaijani President's web-page and creation of opportunities for citizens to make appeals to the President via the Internet in 2007 are indicated as positive developments in the report."

Valizada emphasized that work was underway to improve the level of electronic services.

Head of Azerbaijan Internet Forum Osman Gunduz said that although progress was experienced in the establishment of an electronic government in the country, it was early to speak about its dynamic. He also said the websites of some ministries were not active.