Uzbekistan emerged as a global digital governance leader this week as it hosted the 2025 United Nations Public Service Forum (UNPSF), drawing over 1,000 delegates from around the world. Held from June 23 to 25 in the historic city of Samarkand, the Forum spotlighted innovation in public service under the theme “Five Years Until 2030: Accelerating Public Service Delivery for a Sustainable Future.”
As host nation, Uzbekistan showcased its ambitious digital transformation agenda, positioning technology as a cornerstone of effective, transparent, and inclusive public service delivery. The country’s recent digital achievements include entering the top tier of the UN’s E-Government Development Index and jumping 37 places to reach the “A” category in the UN GovTech Maturity Index.
Key sessions at the Forum focused on the rising role of AI and digital tools in public governance, the expansion of inclusive services to underserved populations, and the establishment of innovation labs aimed at accelerating public sector reform through cross-sector collaboration.
“Digitization is not merely about introducing new technologies. This is a new format of relations between the state and the people, based on trust, transparency, and mutual understanding,” said Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan. “Uzbekistan is ready to move forward on a path in close partnership with the international community.”
Shermatov outlined how Uzbekistan has built a modern digital ecosystem that spans public services, fintech, e-commerce, fiscal analytics, and beyond. The Single Portal of Interactive Public Services (my.gov.uz) now offers over 760 online services, with 11 million registered users. Meanwhile, the Digital Government platform integrates more than 216 information systems and hosts 390 web services from 49 government agencies. Offline service remains robust through 208 public service centers across the country.
A highlight of the Forum was the adoption of the Samarkand Ministerial Declaration, a comprehensive roadmap to enhance inclusive, citizen-centered public service delivery worldwide. In addition, a new international initiative was launched to promote the export of digital governance (GovTech) solutions, underscoring the Forum's forward-looking agenda.
The event was co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG), in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, the Agency for Public Service Development, and the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President of Uzbekistan.
Since its inception in 2003, the UNPSF has been hosted by countries including the USA, Austria, Spain, Tanzania, Bahrain, Morocco, Colombia, Azerbaijan (2019), and South Korea (2024). With the 2025 edition in Samarkand, Uzbekistan has positioned itself not only as a regional reformer but as an emerging global voice in the future of public service.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Twitter pages to keep current on world news.
Comments (0)