Portugal

Portugal sits at the southwest point of Europe and is one of the countries with the oldest borders in Europe. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with regional governments. A sun-shining country throughout the year, it has an exceptional variety of landscapes just a short distance away, many different leisure activities, and unique cultural heritage, where tradition and modernity come together in perfect harmony.

Portugal’s Government has also embraced modernity and works hard to make its citizens' lives better, eliminating red tape and paving the way for a seamless government, making a wide range of public services completely digital and at the distance of a click, wherever one is: in the 21st century, Portuguese citizens do not need to carry around physical identification cards or driving licenses for their digital ones are legally valid anywhere, they get their medical prescriptions on their smartphones, sign any official documents digitally and have no need to fill tax declarations, as these are already pre-filled. Simultaneously, no one is left behind, as Portugal has been spreading its network of assisted digital services. Recently, Portugal became the first European country to launch a Business Wallet, which aims to extend the digital identity regime to economic operators and public administrations, ensuring cross-border interoperability and enabling a company to use a single digital legal identity.

These are just examples of an integrated, collaborative strategy where all government levels work towards the common goal of providing citizen-driven solutions, focusing on interoperable systems and easy and secure digital authentication mechanisms. The digital government strategy is implemented by ARTE – State Technological Reform Agency, under coordination of the Ministry in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and of State Reform. Working with the public administration, ARTE enables interoperability across the public - and sometimes private - sector and develops and implements key enablers that ensure citizens and businesses have a seamless, transparent, and efficient relationship with the Portuguese Public Administration.

At the Digital Nations, Portugal is chairing the Digital Identity Thematic Group, and the country strives to continuously share best practices and promote innovation, working with the members of the group to bring better digital government for all Digital Nations countries and set a pathway for governments across the world that seek to embrace the digital world.