Tashkent, Sep 23 (IANS): Uzbekistan will start introducing national identity cards from January 2021 as part of a state strategy to develop digital economy and information technology, a presidential decree said Wednesday.
The move is necessary for accelerating the use of modern information and communication technologies to provide public services, said the decree.
Under the decree, Uzbekistan will introduce a unified personal identification system in the country from January 1, 2021, which will replace the current biometric passports with ID cards with an electronic data carrier, Xinhua news agency reported.
The process of replacing passports with ID cards will continue until 2030, according to the decree.
The Central Asian nation has a population of some 34 million.