27 August 2026
According to the International Telecommunication Union study
"Digital Government Maturity and Regional Cooperation Opportunities" Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan demonstrate the highest level of e-government development among the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Both countries have comprehensive strategies, developed infrastructure including national cloud platforms and interagency interaction systems, as well as broad coverage of digital services.
In the ITU material, we will examine the current strategies, infrastructural approaches, and systemic barriers in the field of government digitalization in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as those points of interaction where participation in the Regional Project "Collaboration on Digital Government for Central Asia and the Caucasus," could strengthen their own digital transformation programs and stimulate regional cooperation.
Kyrgyzstan
Today, the legal foundation of Kyrgyzstan's e-government is the Digital Code, which came into force on February 6, 2026, systematizing all legislation in the field of ICT and laying the groundwork for a platform-based governance model and services based on artificial intelligence and big data. Concurrently, the Digital Transformation Concept for 2024–2028 is in effect, focused on a fundamental restructuring of public administration based on data.
The central element of the entire digital government system in Kyrgyzstan has become the " Tunduk" interagency interaction system, the eponymous state portal of electronic services, and its mobile application. The system operator is the company "Tunduk" under the Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan.
"As of early August 2026, over 3.4 million accounts are registered on the state portal 'Tunduk' – this is approximately 74% of the population of Kyrgyzstan aged 16 and older – as it is from this age that the mobile application becomes available. The number of active users is about 2.2 million people over the last 30 days, meaning that about 64% of registered users regularly access the services," said Joomart Nadyrbekov, Coordinator of Project Management and Digital Development Methodology at "Tunduk" under the Office of the President of the KR. "Obvious factors limiting coverage remain uneven communication penetration in mountainous regions and the digital literacy gap between population groups – both areas are addressed in the Digital Transformation Concept for 2024–2028."
To log in, citizens use a cloud-based electronic signature issued free of charge at public service centers, or a biometric passport. The portal is adapted for people with disabilities and elderly citizens, making services accessible to all segments of the population. At the same time, the legal force of electronic documents obtained through "Tunduk" has been equated to paper equivalents since 2020.
Interestingly, the architecture of Kyrgyzstan's digital government largely draws on Estonian experience. In 2018, the "Tunduk" interagency interaction system was implemented as a localized version of the Estonian open-source solution X-Road. This enabled secure and standardized data exchange between government bodies, as well as the creation of a single entry point for citizens through the Unified Identification System. At the same time, today, as Joomart Nadyrbekov noted, the infrastructure of "Tunduk" does not depend on foreign suppliers.
The technical stack of Kyrgyzstan's digital government also includes a state electronic messaging system for citizen appeals, registries of infrastructure and basic information resources, a national monitoring system for big data analysis, and a strategic planning system under development. All these components are gradually being integrated into the "Tunduk" portal.
"96 state organizations are connected to the 'Tunduk' interagency interaction system. The state portal offers 208 electronic services, of which 105 are available through the mobile application," noted Joomart Nadyrbekov.
Concurrently, the KR is developing a government cloud (G‑Cloud) with support from the World Bank and the State Data Processing Center, which should increase the resilience and performance of state information systems. A special agency handles personal data protection, which is also strengthening its competencies and plans to implement an IT audit system and child data protection.
Despite obvious progress, digital transformation faces serious challenges. These include uneven communication penetration in mountainous regions, a lack of funding for infrastructure modernization, the digital literacy gap between different population groups, outdated functionally incompatible systems, an acute shortage of cybersecurity experts, and a limited budget. The KR government's plans for the coming years include maximizing the integration of all state information systems and databases by 2028, creating "government service factories" for accelerated development of new products with AI elements and open APIs, as well as ensuring the availability of government data for business, which would enable the launch of combined public-private services.
"We see ITU as a platform where countries in the region can exchange ready-made solutions rather than developing them from scratch. The experience of implementing X-Road has shown how effective the transfer of proven practices can be. Today, the most in-demand areas of support for us are cybersecurity training, the development of compatible interoperability standards, and participation in regional pilot projects based on GovStack*," concluded Joomart Nadyrbekov.
Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, the key element and important update to the regulatory and strategic framework in the field of digital government has become the "Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development of Azerbaijan for 2026–2028" (approved by Decree of the President of Azerbaijan No. 953 of February 27, 2026). The Plan establishes the transition to unified data management, the Once-Only principle, proactive services, further migration of government systems to G-Cloud, and the provision of digital government services through the unified platforms mygov and mygov business.
The main digital interface for citizen-state interaction in Azerbaijan is the mygov platform. The operator of the mygov platform, the mygov ID digital identification system, and the Digital Bridge interagency data exchange platform is the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development (IDDA).
Currently, the number of mygov users exceeds 3.7 million people, of whom more than 2.1 million are active users. Over 430 digital services and more than 100 types of digital documents and data are available through the platform. The Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development for 2026–2028 provides for further consolidation of digital government services and documents on the mygov and mygov business platforms, as well as the gradual phasing out of individual government portals and mobile applications.
"If we use the potentially addressable digital audience – about 6.5 million people, excluding children and those age groups that objectively use digital government services less frequently on their own – the current coverage of mygov is approximately 57%. Our goal by the end of 2026 is to increase the number of mygov users to 5 million, which is approximately 77% of this potential audience.
Some citizens in older age groups, as well as some residents of certain remote regions, are still less active in using digital channels. Therefore, coverage growth for us is not only about attracting new users, but also about simplifying user experience, increasing digital literacy, and expanding the range of life situations that can be fully completed in digital format", said Emil Rustamov, Head of Digital Products at the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development of Azerbaijan (IDDA).
As Emil Rustamov noted, at the current stage, the main challenge in the field of government digitalization in Azerbaijan is not simply to transfer more services online, but to ensure the quality, completeness, and compatibility of the data on which these services are built. Even a fully digital service does not create a quality user experience if the data in the primary state register is missing, outdated, or contains errors.
This problem is also directly recorded in the Action Plan for 2026–2028. The Plan provides for an inventory of at least 50 key state information resources and systems, identification of duplicates, empty fields and contradictory data, and the formation of a centralized metadata registry. The final targets are set as the elimination of 90% of identified data inconsistencies and a 40% reduction in appeals related to data errors.
The second challenge is legacy systems and the fragmented architecture of various government bodies. The goal set by IDDA is not simply to technically connect systems to Digital Bridge, but to ensure full interoperability and the Once-Only principle, so that the state does not request information from citizens or businesses that it already possesses. The Plan also provides for the full digitalization of electronic government services through interagency APIs.
The third direction is the transition from a reactive model to a proactive state. The Plan sets the goal of increasing the share of proactive services to 50%, as well as creating a "State Data Pool" and integrating more than 85% of a defined set of government data into it. This will create a foundation for both higher-quality services and the application of artificial intelligence in public administration.
It is especially important for citizens that the Plan sets a specific trajectory for the consolidation of services in mygov. In 2026, integration of services related to identity documents, civil registration, and notarial actions is envisaged; subsequently – real estate and cadastre, tax services, as well as education, migration, healthcare, employment, social protection, transport, utilities, agricultural, customs, licensing and other services. By 2028, digital government services and documents are to be provided through mygov and mygov business on a "single window" basis, and individual government portals and applications are to be consolidated into this ecosystem.
A separate and increasingly significant direction is the use of artificial intelligence in public administration and services. The Action Plan for 2026–2028 establishes the organization of government services based on AI, as well as the preparation by government bodies of roadmaps for digitalization, artificial intelligence, innovation and cybersecurity with measurable key performance indicators. For each government body, targets for AI application and an "artificial intelligence index" are provided in the annual plan, and at the deputy head level, a responsible person is assigned for digitalization, innovation, AI and cybersecurity, whose activities are directly linked to the goals in these areas.
At the services level, the Plan provides for the development of natural language processing technologies and large language models for the Azerbaijani language, as well as the introduction of interactive virtual assistants based on AI with 24/7 service availability. This path has already begun on mygov: the platform has launched an AI chatbot, and currently IDDA is developing more intelligent AI solutions personalized to specific citizens to help them navigate specific life situations. Such an assistant, with the consent and on behalf of the citizen, will be able to automate the entire scenario: for example, submit an application for a government service and transfer the resulting certificate to the relevant organization, relieving the person of the need to perform these steps independently.
Therefore, the next stage of digital government in Azerbaijan is the transition from individual e-services to an integrated, data-driven and proactive state, where technologies remain invisible to the citizen, and interaction with the state becomes as simple as possible.
"We see ITU as an important methodological and international partner in the development of digital government, especially in the context of cooperation among the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. We particularly value ITU's role in shaping common approaches and standards in the areas of Data Governance, Open Data, responsible application of artificial intelligence, interoperability, cybersecurity, cross-border data exchange, and mutual recognition of electronic signatures. The GovStack approach can also be useful as a neutral architectural framework for exchanging compatible and reusable digital government components.
Azerbaijan, in turn, is ready to share practical experience in the development of such national platforms as mygov, mygov ID, Digital Bridge, and the RSD digital document management system, as well as to participate in regional pilots and joint cross-border initiatives," noted Emil Rustamov.
In 2025–2026, the International Telecommunication Union is implementing the Regional Project "Collaboration on Digital Government for Central Asia and the Caucasus" to help ITU member states achieve their digital government transformation goals. The project aims to bring together the accumulated experience in the region, facilitate the exchange of approaches and technical solutions, partnership and cooperation for accelerated digital transformation of public administration. The project is being implemented by the ITU Regional Office for the CIS Region with technical support from JSC "National Information Technologies" (Kazakhstan) and financial support from the Eurasian Development Bank.
*GovStack – is a global initiative that was founded by ITU, Estonia, Germany, and DIAL in 2020. The initiative supports countries and organizations with building cost-effective and efficient digital public services that are easy to scale, so that citizens can seamlessly access health records, manage identity documents, make digital payments, and utilise other government services. read more:
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/ICT-Applications/Pages/digital-government.aspx
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