The new Law of Turkmenistan “On e-government”, published in today's newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan”, has come into force.

In accordance with the definition, e-government is a system of organizational and legal measures and technical means aimed at ensuring the activities of state bodies for the provision of electronic public services through information and communication technologies and interdepartmental electronic information exchange systems.

According to the law, 2 types of electronic public services will be provided in the country: informational and interactive.

The information public service is aimed at meeting the information needs of applicants, is provided through the publication and other dissemination of information about the activities of the state body.

An interactive public service is provided to the applicant through two-way electronic interaction between the applicant and the state body providing electronic public services.

Electronic public services must be registered in the Unified State Register of Electronic Public Services.

Under the new law, a request for the provision of an electronic public service sent in the form of an electronic document is equated to a request sent in paper form. The response to the applicant for the requested electronic public service is equated to a response sent in paper form, and as a rule, must be in the form of an electronic document and sent within the time limits established by the regulations of the electronic public service.

The applicant has the right:

1.    receive electronic public services in a timely manner and use them in accordance with the approved regulation of electronic public services;
2.    receive complete and reliable information on the procedure for the provision of electronic public services;
3.    receive information on the progress of the provision of electronic public services through various forms of interaction (official website, telephone, e-mail, “hot line” and others);
4.    appeal against decisions of state bodies providing electronic public services, actions (inaction) of their officials to higher authorities or officials in the order of subordination or to the court in the prescribed manner;
5.    participate in the assessment of the quality of the provision of electronic public services by voting, sending proposals or filling out the relevant survey forms;
6.    make proposals for improving electronic public services.

E-government is designed to solve the following tasks:

•    ensure the efficiency, efficiency and transparency of the activities of state bodies;
•    to create opportunities in Turkmenistan for applicants to carry out relations with government agencies in the field of e-government;
•    to form databases of the Unified Portal of Public Services and the Unified State Register of Electronic Public Services;
•    to introduce a multidisciplinary “One Window” system in public administration;
•    promote the transfer of entrepreneurs to the use of electronic document management
•    promote the expansion of the use of e-commerce systems via the Internet by business structures, and also the introduction of automated systems for accounting, control and payment of utility services;
•    development of systems of non-cash electronic payments, public procurement, remote access and other electronic forms of activity in the banking and financial sector.

Funding for the activities of e-government is carried out at the expense of the State budget of Turkmenistan, own funds of ministries and departments, as well as other sources not prohibited by the legislation of Turkmenistan.

State regulation in the field of e-government activities is carried out by the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, the authorized body in this area, determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, and other state bodies within their competence.

Let us remind that on July 23, the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan approved the new laws adopted by the Mejlis.