The Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, Sherzod Shermatov, has been elected as the Co-Chair of the Council on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) "Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure" (SDG 9) until the end of 2026. The announcement was made during the "Global Councils on SDGs" session at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and President of the SDG Global Councils, emphasized the importance of international cooperation and strategic time management for achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
In his address, Minister Shermatov highlighted the rapid growth of the digital economy and how developing countries have the opportunity to adopt advanced technologies from the outset. He stressed the role of international collaboration in fostering digital transformation and innovation.
Shermatov also pointed out the impact of demographic shifts on the global labor market. He noted that while developed countries face aging populations and labor shortages, developing nations are experiencing significant population growth. To address these challenges, he stressed the need for expanding remote work opportunities and enhancing business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) sectors.
Additionally, the minister emphasized the necessity of strengthening online education platforms in developing countries to ensure young people have access to high-quality learning resources.
The session also highlighted the importance of making technological innovations accessible to developing nations. While research and development are largely concentrated in developed countries, Shermatov advocated for open-source technological sharing to benefit global progress, particularly in healthcare and education.
SDG 9, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, focuses on fostering industrial development, promoting innovation, and improving infrastructure worldwide.
In 2023, Uzbekistan’s IT sector exported services worth $344mn, making up more than a third of its total revenue. Over 40% of these exports were directed to the United States, while the United Kingdom and the European Union accounted for another quarter.
Uzbekistan is striving to establish itself as a regional IT hub, with a goal of increasing IT service and software exports to $5bn by 2030. The country also plans to train 300,000 IT professionals. By the end of 2024, Uzbekistan aimed to achieve $1bn in IT exports to strengthen its global digital footprint.
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