President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the next year in Ukraine should become the beginning of the abandonment of paper documents in the field of public services and the creation of a digital state, where bureaucracy and corruption will be an atypical phenomenon.
Opening the Diia Summit in Kyiv, he recalled that the ambitious goal of creating a "State in a Smartphone" was included a year ago in his election program as a presidential candidate.
"And a year later, citizens of Ukraine were able to download “Diia” mobile application in the Apple Store and Google Play. Get permits in the electronic office of the developer. Without stepping away from the computer, register a sole proprietorship in 15 minutes, i.e. start your own business faster than in most countries. Use the "yeMalyatko" service and receive services under one application at the maternity hospital or online. Within a year, we became the fourth country in Europe to have a digital driver's license and the first country in the world to have a digital passport,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
However, he said, this is only a tenth of what is planned to be implemented, and only the first step towards a digital state, "where 100% of services will be online and bureaucracy and corruption will become atypical".
"A little spoiler from me. 2021 will be the beginning of the country's entry into paperless mode. That is - no papers. This applies to all state executive bodies, and most importantly - no state institution will be able to require from Ukrainians any certificates, extracts or other endless papers needed to obtain certain public services," the President of Ukraine noted.
The Head of State noted that the creation of a digital state is a complex yet important process accompanied by resistance of the system, outdated legislation, skepticism and often disbelief. But all the bold, revolutionary projects of the world have passed this way.
"A year ago, a state in a smartphone was just our dream. Today, when the mobile application "Diia" is used by 5 million citizens, this is definitely the beginning of a new reality. Reality where Ukraine will be digital, modern and comfortable for people," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He noted that digitization will also contribute to the strong economic development of the country, as the share of the digital economy in the world is growing rapidly.
"A few weeks ago, I signed a decree on creating favorable conditions for the development of the IT industry in Ukraine. In addition, the bill on "Diia. City" is defined as urgent. This is a unique story, which will create a special legal and economic zone for the creative economy. And we are waiting for its adoption by the parliament as soon as possible," the President stressed.
Digitization and the use of IT technologies accelerate the development of business twice, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said.
"For Ukraine, this is really a civilizational choice, when we can speed up and catch up with civilized states at a rapid pace. Of course, this is the economy. This is a huge investment resource. Digitization makes it possible to free up millions of man-hours," the Prime Minister stressed.
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Kyrylo Shevchenko noted that the banking system today is "at the forefront" of digital transformation. He stressed that the NBU has developed several algorithms for opening a bank account without the physical presence of the client.
"Since last week, another opportunity has been added to this. This can be done through the mobile application "Diia". Our next step is permission to open bank accounts with the use of an electronic passport," the Governor of the National Bank stated.
According to him, customers will be able to transfer their data from the “Diia” app through secure channels, and banks will be able to open appropriate accounts.
During the summit, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov noted that the convenience of "A State in a Smartphone" includes public online services, Internet coverage, digital education of Ukrainians and increasing the number of IT companies.
He noted that public online services have already saved UAH 495 million for Ukrainians and provided UAH 2 billion in additional revenues through the elimination of "tax cuts".
According to Mykhailo Fedorov, it is planned to submit a bill on "Diia. City" to the Verkhovna Rada next month, which aims to create the best conditions for the IT creative industry.
The Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation also presented the updated application "Diia 2.0", the work of the program "yeMalyatko" online, electronic services in the field of construction and more.