Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In mid-August, representatives of the South Korean IT industry paid a working visit to Uzbekistan, including: General Director of Gyeongbuk Technopark Mr. Ha In-Sung, venture investment expert Park Yong-Ho, Director of investment in DG Tech Holdings Hwang Young-Hun.

As part of the visit, on 16 August, a KOICA consulting group led by Mr. Ha In-Sung and with the participation of the director of the KOICA office in Tashkent, Ms. Park Soon-Jin, visited IT Park. The purpose of the meeting is the implementation of the project “Creating the foundation and strengthening the potential for sustainable development of IT Park in Uzbekistan”.

During the meeting, the parties discussed further steps in the implementation of the project, as well as the importance of organizing educational events with the support of Korean specialists and internships in South Korea. Moreover, the dialogue participants decided to establish cooperation between IT Park residents and leading Korean IT companies to optimize costs and compete in foreign markets through technology transfer, development of joint software products and outsourcing of IT and BPO services.

During the visit, the Korean delegation got acquainted with more than 15 IT Park startup projects, shared their experience in developing and supporting startups and the necessary methods for attracting investments.

The next day, on 17 August, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the Korean delegation held a round table on the topic "Attracting investments in start-up projects in Uzbekistan."

The event was attended by Advisor to the Director of IT Park J. Partasarati, Director General of the National Venture Fund "UzVC" Dilshod Khashimov, Head of the IT Park Startup Development Department Farrukh Maksumov, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, founders of startup projects and other key participants in the startup ecosystem Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, the parties discussed possible areas of cooperation in building a startup ecosystem and attracting investments to Uzbekistan, and also exchanged views on further support for the reforms and changes carried out in recent years in the IT sector of Uzbekistan. In addition, the participants of the dialogue considered the possibilities of cooperation in the development of mechanisms to attract investment to support IT start-ups in Uzbekistan.

On 18 August, a seminar on digitalization and the startup ecosystem was held at the Tashkent University of Information Technologies KOICA.

Amalia Ergasheva, Deputy Director of IT Park, delivered a welcoming speech. She thanked the participants of the seminar for their participation and expressed her gratitude to foreign partners for their support.

The seminar was attended by representatives of the KOICA office in Uzbekistan, project management partners from Korea, partner organizations from Uzbekistan and relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of ICT, CCI, Ministry of Innovation and others.

During the seminar, projects were considered, each of which is being implemented jointly with a local partner. Thus, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan is working on the project “Creating an Ecosystem for Supporting Startups and Stimulating Entrepreneurial Growth in Uzbekistan”.

IT Park - on the project "Creating the foundation and strengthening the potential for sustainable development of IT Park in Uzbekistan."

KOICA and TUIT project: "Creation of an innovative system of IT education at the Tashkent University of Information Technologies."

During the workshop, it was decided that by joint efforts, all parties will be able to implement projects and develop the ecosystem under one STEP initiative - the Program for the Promotion of Startups and Technological Ecosystems in Uzbekistan.

The STEP program will contribute to the implementation of the Strategy "Digital Uzbekistan-2030" and the development of digitalization and support for start-ups by strengthening information technologies. Since the three projects are interconnected in a form of partnership between private, public and academic circles, the workshop served as a link between the projects and provided a platform for cooperation to build mutual cooperation in the field of ICT and start-ups through the exchange of knowledge and experience.