The first SCO Digital Forum was held on February 1 in Almaty, gathering the heads of ministries and agencies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states responsible for the development of information and communication technologies.
The SCO includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
In his welcoming remarks at the forum, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, Bagdat Musin said that “Kazakhstan has achieved significant success in the field of digitalization, GovTech, and IT development, confidently leading among the Central Asian countries.”
The minister highlighted successful Kazakhstani IT startups, residents of the international techno-park Astana Hub. “The advantage and attractiveness of Astana Hub to international companies lie in visa and tax preferences, extraterritoriality, the possibility of online registration, and the launch of acceleration programs. Among the Central Asian regions, Astana Hub became the first partner of Google for Startups, within which a joint acceleration program ‘Silkway Accelerator’ was developed. Over the course of two years of collaboration, the result is a twofold increase in the number of graduate companies; these companies have already entered the markets of the Middle East, the USA, and Europe. Compared to the first 9 months of 2022 ($190.5 million), the export of IT services increased by 99%, reaching $373.4 million in the first 9 months of 2023,” said Musin.
The minister proposed the creation of a joint Alliance of techno-parks of SCO member countries for the further development of an innovative ecosystem and comprehensive support for startup projects and IT companies.
Another area of cooperation could be the construction of fiber-optic communication lines. Utilizing Kazakhstan’s high transit potential will provide significant advantages for SCO countries in connecting to the Internet and improve conditions for traffic flow across the Eurasian continent, the Kazakh minister said. He also proposed building fiber-optic communication lines connecting SCO countries along the Russia-Kazakhstan-Iran route, with access to the Indian Ocean.
