Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The implementation of the Uzbekistan Digital Inclusion project, initiated by the World Bank, the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan and IT Park, has begun in Uzbekistan.

Before the launch of the project, a meeting of the project team was held, which was attended by Deputy Minister Rustam Karimzhonov, CEO of IT Park Farkhod Ibragimov and a World Bank delegation led by Director of Global Digital Development Practice Christina Christine Zhenwei Qiang.

The goal of the Uzbekistan Digital Inclusion project is to increase the level of digitalization and create conditions for the development of the information technology sector in Uzbekistan, including infrastructure development and updating the legislative framework.

The project includes three main components: digital inclusion and enabling environment, development of nationwide regional infrastructure and stimulation of IT services and location attractiveness.

The steps for implementing the project, realizing the export potential of Uzbekistan and the reforms carried out in the information technology sector were discussed at the meeting.

Representatives of the World Bank noted the large-scale work to develop and popularize the IT sector in the republic.

The World Bank-supported project will be an important step in the development of Uzbekistan as a regional technology hub through investments in digitalization and regional infrastructure, modernization of the legislative and institutional framework and the development of key skills, including among the most vulnerable groups of the population.

With the support of the World Bank, information technology centers will be built and reconstructed, and more than 200 international and local companies will be attracted to provide IT services abroad. There will also be a focus on training more than 6,000 young professionals and creating 25,000 new jobs in the technology sector. There is a quota for the employment of women and persons with disabilities.

In November 2023, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved a soft loan in the amount of US$50 million for the implementation of the Digital Inclusion in Uzbekistan project.

By 2029, when the project is completed, it is planned to employ about 25 thousand people in the information technology sector and another 15 thousand people in related industries. This project aims to support various initiatives to achieve these goals.