“ASAN Service” Center Opened in Ethiopia

A delegation led by Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, visited Ethiopia at the invitation of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
During the visit, the official opening of the “MESOB” public service center, established based on the “ASAN Service” model, took place. The delegation was accompanied by the Commissioner of the Ethiopian Civil Service Commission and the State Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister. Ruslan Nasibov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, also attended the official presentation.
During the visit, a presentation was held for the Azerbaijani delegation. At the 8-story “MESOB” center in Addis Ababa, approximately 20 government agencies and a number of private organizations provide a total of over 120 services during the pilot phase. The center’s infrastructure includes service counters, information desks, waiting areas, self-service kiosks, a call center, and a children’s play area.
The Ethiopian side expressed deep gratitude to the Azerbaijani state for the support provided and noted plans to increase the number of such centers by the end of the year.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the application of the “ASAN Service” experience in Ethiopia was signed between the State Agency and the relevant Ethiopian authority in May 2024.
During a meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Taye Atske-Selassie on November 14, 2024, held on the sidelines of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), the Ethiopian side expressed interest in adopting the “ASAN Service” experience and requested Azerbaijani support in this matter.
Over the past period, experts from the State Agency conducted training sessions for Ethiopian civil servants, prepared legal and other necessary documents for the implementation of the “ASAN Service” model in Ethiopia, defined uniform service standards, and developed recommendation documents based on the technological solutions used in “ASAN Service” centers.
The building for the service center in Addis Ababa was selected and redesigned based on the “ASAN Service” center concept. Furthermore, cooperation was established with relevant state institutions represented at the Ethiopian “MESOB” public service center to optimize services and streamline business processes.