Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In order to demonstrate to international companies the potential of Uzbekistan in the field of information technology and outsourcing, as well as the opportunities and measures created by the government for investing in the country, the “Offshore Outsourcing Tour” event is being held from 18 to 20 March in Tashkent and Samarkand, organized by the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan and IT Park Uzbekistan.

The conference was attended by the Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sherzod Shermatov, CEO of IT Park Farhad Ibragimov, as well as representatives of the World Bank and leading IT and BPO companies, venture funds and investors.

“Today we launched one of the important events aimed at maintaining the growth of the IT potential of Uzbekistan. We strive to transform our country into a center for global IT outsourcing, offering attractive conditions for foreign companies. The event in Tashkent and Samarkand will highlight our capabilities and is a step towards establishing close ties with the global IT community,” said Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has emerged as a promising destination for IT outsourcing, offering companies unprecedented tax incentives, customs preferences and unique support programs, backed by a strong infrastructure. The positive results of these measures are already visible today. Since 2017 export

IT services grew from US$600,000 to US$344 million in 2023. The number of IT Park residents with foreign capital has increased 20 times over the past two years, reaching 464 companies, the total number of residents of the organization amounted to 1,828 companies

Following the national strategy “Digital Uzbekistan 2030”, the republic sets an ambitious goal to export IT services worth US$5 billion by 2030, which is 14.5 times more than in 2023.

To achieve this goal, IT Park regularly holds events abroad, such as the Uzbekistan Outsourcing Conference and the Uzbekistan Tech Conference. In addition, residents and representatives of IT Park actively participate in major international IT events, hold meetings and visits with foreign organizations and companies, improve legislation and create more favorable conditions and opportunities. In addition, the International Center for Digital Technologies “Enterprise Uzbekistan” is being implemented.

However, as they say, “it’s better to see once than to hear a hundred times.” For this purpose, a large-scale international event “Offshore Outsourcing Tour” will be held in Uzbekistan, which was attended by more than 200 representatives of foreign companies and organizations. At the event, participants presented the key advantages of Uzbekistan for doing global business, such as:

Skilled Workforce: Nearly two-thirds of the country’s 36 million people are under 30 years of age and have high levels of literacy and foreign language skills. More than 5 million young people speak English;

Tax incentives: Uzbekistan offers favorable tax conditions, including a 0% rate on corporate, social, property and land taxes, customs preferences and a zero rate on VAT, and employees pay less income tax on their monthly salary;

Support programs: participants will be able to take advantage of the Zero Risk program, which includes a free office in the regions of Uzbekistan for 12 months and reimbursement of costs for employee salaries and their professional development; the Regional HQ program for international service companies, which provides benefits and preferences; as well as the Local2Global program, which helps local companies enter international markets;

IT Visa: foreign investors, founders of resident companies and IT specialists can obtain a multiple-entry visa for up to 3 years, with access to local medical services, education and the purchase of real estate;

Ease of doing business: thanks to the "One Stop Shop" service, opening a company in Uzbekistan and its full operation takes only 6-8 weeks, and the comprehensive support of IT Park at all stages makes doing business in Uzbekistan as easy as possible.

This will be followed by two panel discussions. The first concerns the issues of talent development and innovation in education, and the second will present the outsourcing ecosystem in Uzbekistan, describing the features and interests of ITES business in the country.

On 19 March, a round table on navigating the IT outsourcing market in Uzbekistan will be held in Samarkand. Participants will receive an overview from industry experts about the processes of opening a company and doing business in Uzbekistan, and will be able to ask all their questions. After the round table, visits to local IT educational institutions and ITES companies will also be organized.

The final day of the tour, 20 March, will be dedicated to a cultural program in Samarkand, including visits to historical sites such as Shahi Zinda and Registan.

The Offshore Outsourcing Tour will provide international ITES companies with a unique opportunity to experience the benefits of investing in Uzbekistan and using local resources for their business initiatives. This could contribute to increased interest in opening offices, increasing exports to the country through new orders for IT Park residents, which in turn contributes to the creation of new jobs in the information technology sector and economic development, contributing to the prosperity of Uzbekistan.