Azerbaijani media representatives visiting Uzbekistan as part of a press tour were introduced to the activities of IT Park Uzbekistan. The press tour brings together 20 representatives of leading Azerbaijani media outlets, including Emin Aliyev, editor-in-chief of Trend International News Agency. During the visit, participants were briefed on Uzbekistan’s government policies aimed at developing the digital economy, creating a favorable ecosystem for technology companies and startups, training qualified IT specialists, attracting foreign investment, and supporting exports of digital services and innovative entrepreneurship.
Azamat Rahmon-Zoda, manager for foreign direct investment and corporate relations at IT Park Uzbekistan, said the organization works with IT companies from 104 countries, including Azerbaijan. IT Park’s structure includes 14 regional branches and six international offices. Its ecosystem brings together around 3,800 technology companies, including more than 1,000 export-oriented firms and over 1,000 foreign companies.
The Azerbaijani journalists were also briefed on Uzbekistan’s efforts to develop its IT workforce. The country has 145 IT universities with more than 129,000 students, while over 500 IT centers train more than 55,000 graduates annually. More than 2 million people have received training under the One Million Uzbek Coders program.
The government also covers up to 100% of the cost of international IT certifications. Particular attention is being paid to developing the startup ecosystem. Its total valuation exceeds $4.3 billion, with more than 1,600 startups and two unicorn companies operating in the country.
Three international startup competitions are held annually, offering a combined prize pool of $11 million. The ecosystem also includes 22 funds with total capital of more than $200 million. Technology companies in Uzbekistan provide around $2.8 billion worth of digital services and export more than $1 billion in services to over 100 countries, according to the presentation.
Digital transformation of public administration was another key focus of the presentation. More than 3,300 digital projects have been implemented under the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy. Some 160 types of certificates and documents have been abolished, while more than 150 licenses and permits are available online.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
