The purchase of 100,000 electronic IDs will be approved by the Council of Ministers, which convenes on Wednesday morning, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said earlier today while addressing the Digital Agenda Cyprus Summit, taking place at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.
As the President of the Republic said, “we will approve in the Council of Ministers at 11:00 am the incentives for an electronic identity card, including the digital signature, to enhance the efficiency of security and speed of transactions, ensuring that government services are provided seamlessly and with safety.”
Specifically, he continued, “today the Council of Ministers is expected to take this very important decision regarding electronic IDs, approving the purchase of one hundred thousand electronic IDs over a period of 3 years and making them available for use by citizens of the Republic over 18 years of age.”
Our decision, President Christodoulides pointed out, “will make a decisive contribution to our effort for th
e gradual digital transition of the state.”
As he explained, “the identity card that we will announce today will have a duration of 3 years with the right of renewal and will allow, among other things, fast electronic identification for access to information systems with a high level of assurance, even recognized at the European level for cross-border transactions.”
Thus, the President of the Republic emphasized, “if it is being used at the same time for the electronic signature of documents, it will have the same legal force as a handwritten signature and can be used in all electronic transactions that currently require a handwritten signature to be processed.”
Finally, the President of the Republic expressed his certainty that everyone understands the benefits that arise for the public, the citizens, and the private sector with this specific action, and said that this was a substantial boost towards the development of fully digital services.
Source: Cyprus News Agency