South Korea and Uzbekistan open Digital Government Cooperation Center in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A delegation from the Republic of Korea, led by the Minister of the Interior and Safety, Yun Ho-jung, visited the IT Park Uzbekistan complex as part of an official visit to Tashkent.

The foreign guests were presented with the republic's key achievements in digital transformation, its startup support ecosystem, the growth dynamics of high-tech service exports, and ongoing reforms aimed at integrating artificial intelligence algorithms.

The South Korean side was shown the technical stages involved in deploying public services, the architecture of the Single Portal of Interactive State Services (my.gov.uz), data center infrastructure, and the incentives available to tech park residents, including tax exemptions and the IT Visa program.

Following the briefing tour, bilateral talks were held between the Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, Sherzod Shermatov, and Minister Yun Ho-jung.

The heads of the departments highly praised the dynamics of the interstate partnership, noting that Seoul's advanced experience as a global technological leader supports Uzbekistan's progress toward becoming a regional IT hub.

Sherzod Shermatov voiced proposals to attract leading South Korean corporations to open branches in the republic with the aim of subsequently expanding into third-country markets, a move bolstered by the growing number of young, skilled Uzbek specialists with foreign language proficiency.

During the meeting, the ministers paid special attention to the international recognition of Uzbekistan's startup ecosystem, which was recently awarded "Country of the Year" status. The parties outlined steps to strengthen interaction in IT education and implement joint research and development (R&D) projects at the Cyber University in the city of Nurafshan.

The long-term partnership program will also cover the cybersecurity sector, the development of the gaming industry, and the execution of a large-scale project to build major data centers in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

The key outcome of the South Korean delegation's visit was the grand opening ceremony of the Digital Government Cooperation Center. The ministry heads signed an official memorandum establishing the parameters for further partnership.

The new structure is expected to serve as the main platform for the rapid transfer of South Korean technologies, the exchange of experience between specialized professionals, and the advancement of bilateral digital cooperation to a qualitatively new level.