The Maldives government is gearing up to test digital signatures by the end of March 2023, said the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology.
The new service will be added into the existing Government e-Letter Management System (GEMS), while the digital signature will eliminate the need of printing out applications and scanning them to process.
According the the Minister of Technology Aminath Shauna, the government’s plans to improve the GEMS’ inter-office communication system is a significant step towards digitalizing the government services.
Maldives government has been working extensively on increasing its digital infrastructure. Earlier the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation introduced digital license cards, while the Department of National Registration (DNR) is preparing to launch digital national identity cards.
The state introduced GEMS in 2010 in an effort to improve communication between state bodies and cut down the usage of paper, as well as reduce state expenditure.