TIRANA, April 17 /ATA/ The Director of the National Agency for Information Society, Linda Karçanaj, speaking at the event “Empowering AI in Digital Public Services in Albania,” where Prime Minister Edi Rama was also present, stated that today, through “e-Albania,” all public services are available online, except for those that require physical presence.
Karçanaj said that whether it’s applying for personal documents, registering a business, requesting economic assistance, or signing documents online, citizens no longer have to wait in line at government offices, thanks to a system in place designed to eliminate delays and streamline public services.
“We are preparing generations for whom counters and the old bureaucracy will seem as distant as milk queues and ration cards from Enver Hoxha’s time seem to us today. Everything starts with education. We understood early on that you cannot build a digital society without digitally skilled citizens. From primary school, our children are already learning coding. But more importantly, they are learning to think critically, to understand the digital world, and to use technology responsibly,” said Karçanaj.
“316 smart labs, implemented by the Albanian government with the support of the World Bank’s GovTech program, are helping our children—starting from first grade—not only to become users of technology, but creators of it,” she continued. “With the support of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), by 2026 all 9-year and secondary schools will be equipped with their own smart labs. Our curricula are now dynamic, designed for a world that is changing faster than ever before.”
The head of the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) stated that the public administration now operates as a digital platform, which, thanks to technology, does not stop working at 4 or 5 p.m., but instead provides services 24/7. “From birth registration to pension applications, our citizens no longer need to wait in line. They do not serve the state—the state serves them,” she emphasized.
“In education, we have carried out a quiet revolution, one that is felt every day in every school, every home, and every classroom. Through the SMIP platform, 700,000 parents, 35,000 teachers, and 350,000 students now have real-time access to everything related to school life—grades, absences, behavior, and performance. A total of 240,000 registrations and transfers have been completed online—without paper, without files, without counters. Over 1 million electronic report cards have been generated, saving teachers time and reducing costs for the state,” Karçanaj stated, adding that just this year, 76,000 high school graduation certificates have been issued electronically.
“Just this year, 30,000 students have automatically received their vaccination records, thanks to real-time interaction between the health and education systems,” she stated. “In the healthcare sector, we haven’t just built modern hospitals—we have created an integrated healthcare ecosystem. Citizens receive electronic prescriptions, schedule their appointments, and access their medical reports digitally. Our doctors are equipped with systems and data that enable them to treat patients more effectively. In a system that works, more people are healed and less time is spent waiting,” she added.
The head of AKSHI also addressed the business community, noting that businesses can now be registered online in just a few minutes. All sales are declared online and in real time, taxes are filed and paid electronically, and all invoices are issued in digital format.
Karçanaj highlighted that permits, licenses, and applications have become clear, traceable, and transparent processes, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy for entrepreneurs. In agriculture, digital transformation has significantly impacted Albanian farmers, with over 80,000 applications completed, marking their entry into the digital era. Additionally, an integrated tourism information system is being developed to provide a modern and reliable tourist experience, supporting Albania’s growth through digitalization.
According to her, digitalization has saved citizens 620 billion lek, as well as 7,600 years of time that would have been spent waiting at counters—equivalent to making 25,000 trips around the world.
“75 million sheets of paper that were not used have protected an entire forest, not just a few trees. We have saved 3.78 million kWh of energy, equivalent to powering around 370 households for a year; 752 million liters of water, enough to supply the residents of Tirana with drinking water for 10 months; and 57 million euros in savings from tickets, taking a day off work, or other expenses incurred by such a trip,” she emphasized.
The head of AKSHI also highlighted Diella, the virtual assistant of “e-Albania,” which has evolved into an intelligent digital assistant capable of listening, speaking, and guiding citizens in accessing all public services. “Today, we’ll demonstrate how Diella has become so advanced that it can directly issue 54 documents with an electronic seal via a voice command. In the coming months, Diella will be able to assist both citizens and businesses in completing any application from start to finish. The Government Interaction Platform, though not visible to citizens, operates on the country’s digital infrastructure. It connects 63 systems that exchange real-time data, enabling 70% of application data to be automatically filled in. Since its inception in 2013, this platform has processed 1.5 billion transactions,” she explained, adding that 4.4 million public services have already been provided in the first three months of this year—23% more than in the same period of 2024.
Karçanaj emphasized that the digital transformation of the Albanian state would not have been possible without a clear, bold, and unwavering political vision.
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