TEHRAN – “Up to now 55 percent of Iranian villages have internet coverage,” the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said on Monday, IRNA reported.

He pointed out to Iran’s ranking in the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI 2018), which moved up 20 points to reach 86 amongst 193 countries in comparison with EGDI 2017. 

He said that it is planned to move up 30 points during the sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021) and this improve would be notable.

The information technology can boost efficiency in the country, he said.
 
He called the low rate of efficiency in Iran as one of the main problems of the country.

Azari-Jahromi called digital transformation and its consequences like e-government as great achievements of IT.

“Unfortunately many officials do not differentiate between e-government and employee administration automation software,” he lamented.

“We have already begun discourses on the digital transformation at the ICT ministry,” he explained.

People and officials should also be aware of IT-related issues like digital transformation and e-government, Azari-Jahromi added.

He also called transparency as one of the results of e- government, which can stop corruption.

E-government and information technology are useful in different fields including agriculture and health, he said.

The first phase of e-government services project in Iran officially came on stream under the title of ‘Mobile Government’ in mid-May 2018.

The project aims to facilitate some government services, reduce unnecessary expenses and ease traffic jam, which is the main cause of air pollution in big cities.

It is based on the National Information Network, an ongoing project to develop a secure and stable infrastructure network in the country.

SB/MQ/MG