On December 27, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was briefed on the presentation of plans for the development of artificial intelligence and telecommunications technologies, as reported by the presidential press service.
In recent years, the IT sector has attracted $3 billion in investments, with the number of enterprises with foreign capital increasing 8.5 times compared to 2017, surpassing one thousand units. Seven years ago, there were only 12 exporting enterprises in the country; this year, their number has reached 650.
By the end of the year, the volume of exports of information technology and telecommunications services is expected to exceed $900 million.
Based on artificial intelligence technology, more than 20 projects have already been implemented, and an additional 70 projects have been developed for specific sectors and large enterprises. Uzbekistan has improved its position by 17 spots in the international index of readiness for artificial intelligence.
During the meeting, Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov presented plans for 2025. In particular, "cloud" data centers will be launched in the Bukhara, Fergana, and Tashkent regions.
To support startups, laboratories for artificial intelligence will be opened at the Tashkent University of Information Technologies and Inha University. Three thousand employees of government agencies, as well as khokims and their deputies, will undergo training in this field.
Officials have been tasked with increasing the number of artificial intelligence projects to 100 and the volume of software products and services to $50 million.
This year, the volume of IT services grew by 16%, reaching 21 trillion sums, while the revenues of "Uzbektelecom" exceeded 9 trillion sums. It was noted at the meeting that next year, companies need to fully digitalize the management system, reduce costs, implement ESG principles, and obtain an international rating.
Photo: presidential press service
This year, the revenues of UzPost (O'zbekiston pochtasi) increased 1.4 times, and exports grew by 20%. The introduction of new types of services led to a 50% increase in the number of shipments.
According to the plans, next year, a service for the delivery of goods from electronic trading platforms will be implemented in 1,600 post offices.
A digital sorting center will also be opened, which will enhance the quality of processing such goods and postal shipments. The EBRD will be involved in funding these goals.
Based on the "Telecommunications" law, adopted in a new edition, a two-year digitalization program will be developed across all sectors and regions. In particular, by 2025, it is planned to build 6,000 new base stations and lay 30,000 km of fiber-optic cables, which will increase service coverage to 98%.
Additionally, measures will be taken to raise the export volume in the sector to $1.2 billion.
Another significant event in the industry will be the development of a law on the International Center for Digital Technologies. The center, named Enterprise Uzbekistan, will adopt principles of English law, free movement of capital, international labor standards, and will facilitate the activities of foreign bank branches.
The head of state has tasked the creation of a legislative framework in the field of artificial intelligence and the development of education in digital technologies.
Earlier, Spot reported that excise taxes on mobile communications and VAT for the purchase of state property are being abolished.