The Director of the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA BiH), Prof. Dr. Almir Badnjević, will participate as a speaker at the Regional Anti-Corruption Policy Forum, to be held on 15 September 2026 in Podgorica under the title “Building Democratic Resilience in the Western Balkans: From State Capture to Digital Sovereignty”.
The Forum is being held as a side event to the Ministerial Meeting of Interior Ministers within the Berlin Process and will bring together senior representatives of institutions from the Western Balkans and the European Union, law enforcement and anti-corruption institutions, as well as international and regional experts. This year’s Forum focuses on strengthening the rule of law and institutional resilience, combating corruption and state capture, protecting the information space and economic sovereignty, as well as addressing the challenges that digital transformation and artificial intelligence pose to democratic governance.
Director Badnjević will speak on the panel “Digital Sovereignty and Governance: AI as a Tool for Protecting EU’s Information Space, Economic Security and Democratic Resilience”, together with representatives of Montenegro and Albania.
His presentation will focus on digital sovereignty as an infrastructure of trust, highlighting the importance of reliable digital identity, authoritative government records, secure data exchange, electronic signatures and interoperability as prerequisites for a secure digital state and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in the public sector.
Badnjević will also present the experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina through IDDEEA’s activities in developing national digital identity infrastructure and trust services, as well as the country’s path towards connecting with European digital identity and interoperability systems and standards.
Particular attention will be paid to the fact that the digitalisation of public administration is not only a matter of efficiency and accessibility of services for citizens. Systems that enable reliable identification, verifiable data, electronic signatures, secure data exchange and the recording of digital transactions can also contribute to greater transparency, institutional accountability and reducing the scope for administrative discretion and abuse.
“Digital sovereignty is not about owning servers, but about having control over identity, data and trust. If we want artificial intelligence to strengthen institutions and democracy, rather than their weaknesses, it must be built on reliable digital identity, authoritative data and responsible institutions. This is precisely where I see one of IDDEEA’s key roles and an opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina not to remain on the digital periphery of Europe, but to become part of its interoperable digital space,” Badnjević said ahead of the Forum.
The participation of the Director of IDDEEA at this Forum represents another opportunity to present Bosnia and Herzegovina’s experience and achievements in the areas of digital identity, trust infrastructure and secure data exchange within the regional and European dialogue on digital sovereignty, security and democratic resilience.
The Forum is organised by SELDI – Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity and is financially supported by the European Union and the Central European Initiative, with the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic.