A Modern Home for E-Governance
New IT Agency will host e-government services

TIRANA, MAY 19, 2008 – Albania’s National Agency for the Information Society (NAIS) was inaugurated today, May 19, 2008, in a ceremony held in the Agency’s modern new offices, refurbished by the US Government, located next to the National Registration Center. The ceremony also transferred ownership of the e-government services developed by the Millennium Challenge Albania project to the Albanian Government.

Created in April 2007, NAIS will now serve as the coordinating body for such e-government services as e-registration of businesses, e-procurement and tax e-filing, all of which benefit businesses and the public at large. The US-funded renovation of the Agency’s offices has created a state-of-the art work environment that safeguards private data while maximizing the ease of sharing of public information across government agencies.

Attending the event was Prime Minister Berisha, who committed his Government to expanding Albania’s e-governance to ensure public services operate with maximum efficiency and transparency. Also participating was USAID Administrator and Director of United States Foreign Assistance, Mrs. Henrietta Fore, who expressed satisfaction with the Agency’s start-up. “We see your Agency’s success as our assurance that reforms now underway – and the e-governance systems underpinning them -- will be sustained after our assistance ends,” Ms. Fore said.

Support for NAIS is part of the two-year Millennium Challenge Albania Threshold Agreement between the Government of Albania (GoA) and Millennium Challenge Corporation (www.mcc.gov), administered by USAID, which assists the GoA to reform and modernize tax administration, public procurement and business registration.

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