On April 14-15, a regional conference on digitalization is being held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, with the participation of more than 70 representatives of government agencies and organizations from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, the United States, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The conference is organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and National Information Society Agency (NIA) of the Republic of Korea and "National Infocommunication Holding "Zerde" JSC".

The heads of the authorized bodies of the participating countries, together with experts from the Republic of Korea, will discuss the results of the Digitization Needs Assessment Survey conducted in seven countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is the first survey, which has thoroughly examined the needs of countries in the region in implementing digital transformation.

The study is based on survey data and interviews conducted in countries in the region since 2021 as part of a joint project between ACSH, UNDP and the Government of the Republic of Korea. The project aims to enhance the capacity of each country's government.

Opening the conference, the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Astana Civil Service Hub Alikhan Baimenov noted that "new technologies could be a good tool for developing human-centric governance." He added that the study discussed today is intended to ensure that further work under the project is carried out in accordance with the needs of the beneficiary countries. 

The Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Civil Service Affairs Darkhan Zhazykbayev in his speech pointed out the importance of information decisions in today's world and stressed that participation in such conferences contributes to the development of regional cooperation and mobilization of efforts to digitize our countries, followed by the development of more effective and modern approaches.

Director of the Digital Resources Policy Division of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea Min Sun Jeong noted that under the programme, Korea is actively sharing its experience in creating a digital government and looking for ways to expand cooperation with participating countries. "We ask the delegations of the seven participating countries gathered today for their continued participation and active role in ensuring that this capacity-building programme achieves the best results," she said.

UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Yakup Beris noted that "the transition to digital technologies today enables us to work and think differently, while opening up opportunities we did not even know existed. In Kazakhstan, UNDP is working with the Government of Kazakhstan and other national partners to improve citizen and business access to digital public services and is introducing digital solutions in other areas through ongoing projects."

The Chairman of the Board of the "National Infocommunication Holding "Zerde" Mr. Arman Abdrassilov noted that “today, digitalization is a key element in the life of every citizen”. He also noted that holding this event will serve as a good opportunity to exchange experience and study global trends and innovative solutions in the development of digital transformation in our countries.

The guest of honor of the conference was Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of Digital Government Branch, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). He spoke about the main directions of global and regional trends in digitalization in the context of the upcoming UN e-government survey.

The second day of the conference will be held in the framework of the Holding "Zerde", where participants will be presented international and national projects for the development of digital transformation of government agencies, the development of information technology, innovation and Big Data management. 

This conference is organized within the framework of a joint regional project of UNDP, ACSH, MOIS and NIA, which aims to strengthen the capacity of officials and practitioners from seven countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) involved in the implementation of innovations in the system of public administration and digitization of public services. The project is designed for three years (2021-2023) and includes research, seminars, conferences and study visits to the Republic of Korea.

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The Astana Civil Service Hub was established in 2013 through a joint initiative of the Government of Kazakhstan and UNDP and now includes 42 participating countries and 80 institutional organizations. The Hub is a multilateral platform for the exchange of civil service experiences and knowledge with a flexible agenda that meets the needs of participating countries.

For more details about the Astana Civil Service Hub, visit the website:

https://www.astanacivilservicehub.org/