Over 900 benefit from new Baku center serving citizens in one week
By Nigar Orujova
The center in Baku established with the Azerbaijani government's support to provide services to citizens reported statistics for the first five days of its operation, which started on January 15.
The total number of the ASAN Service center No. 1 applicants from Nasimi and Narimanov districts of the capital city, where the center operates by now, has reached 1,582. 939 of these people were provided with services, the agency's department on public relations said.
Most of the requests were related to the acquisition and substitution of identity cards and driver's licenses.
466 applications were forwarded to state agencies as they were outside the center's sphere of activities.
Of those registered, 54 people did not apply for service and 123 were provided with various kinds of advice.
The ASAN Service center was created under the State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovations under the Azerbaijani President to ensure unified and coordinated provision of services by state bodies.
According to the head of the agency Inam Karimov, once the ASAN Service launches its full operation, Azerbaijani citizens will be able to appeal to any ASAN Service center, regardless of the area of their registration.
The whole network will be available in about two years, Karimov believes.
Opening of three or four ASAN Service centers is planned in Baku. The centers' work will be based on the principles of transparency, convenience and efficiency, as well as creation of appropriate conditions for compliance with these principles, Karimov said.
The State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovations and ASAN Service Center No.1 were opened by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on December 29. The agency and the service were created by the presidential decrees issued on July 13 and September 5.
The state agency was established to increase transparency in state bodies' activity, render more high quality, convenient services to citizens by using new methods and innovations, improve services and accelerate the transition to electronic services.
The agency is to manage specially created ASAN-Xidmet (service) centers, coordinate the work of employees of government agencies, who will work in the centers, deal with integration of databases of state agencies, swiftly organize e-services, and improve the governance system.
At the first stage, at the centers to be set up in Baku citizens will have access to 24 services of nine state agencies -- the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs and Taxes, the State Committee on Property Issues, State Customs Committee, State Migration Committee, State Land and Cartography Committee, State Social Protection Fund and National Archive Department.
Special terminals will be installed at ASAN-Xidmet centers in January 2013. The services will be available for a special duty, but handicapped people and children with disabilities will benefit from them free of charge.
This will include such services as registration of marriages, births, death certificates, issuance of ID cards by the Interior Ministry, driver's license replacement, obtaining passports, etc.
The services to be available over the Internet will be rendered through the "single window" (one-stop shop) principle.
The Baku center is located at Heydar Aliyev St. 36 and is open from 10:00 AM until 20:00 PM and until 17:00 PM on Sundays.