One of the important initiatives put forward by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his speech at a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of States on 15 October was the intensification of cooperation between the participating countries in the field of innovation.
The head of our state outlined the importance of actively promoting joint innovation programs within the Commonwealth and supporting start-up projects with the active involvement of young entrepreneurs.
At the present stage, this initiative is in great demand, since the rapid pace of development of high technologies dictates the need to intensify innovative interaction between countries.
It should be noted that in recent years, Uzbekistan has achieved significant success in the development of the innovation sphere. In particular, in 2017, in accordance with the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Innovative Development was established, targeted measures were taken in the field of innovative development of economic and social sectors of the republic, comprehensive support and improvement of the effectiveness of science and scientific activity, new mechanisms for financing scientific projects were introduced.
In addition, a strategic plan was adopted aimed at developing human capital on the way to achieving the most important goal - Uzbekistan’s entry into the list of 50 leading countries in the world in the Global Innovation Index ranking until 2030.
Thanks to systemic reforms in the innovation sphere over the past 5 years, Uzbekistan has improved its position in the Global Innovation Index, taking 86th place among 132 countries in 2021, while in 2020 the country ranked 93rd, and in 2015 - 122nd.
At the same time, the republic has intensified cooperation in the field of innovations within the CIS, joining in 2018 the activities of the Interstate Council for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation. This is a permanent coordinating body of sectoral cooperation of the Commonwealth, which determines the forms of interaction between the participating countries in this direction.
As a result, in 2020, in accordance with the Decision of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS countries, the Interstate Program of Innovative Cooperation of the Commonwealth Member States for the period up to 2030 was adopted, the main task of which is to organize large-scale production of science-intensive competitive goods and promising developments in a common innovation space.
It is well known that youth is an important link in the effective implementation of projects in an innovative direction. It is not for nothing that at the Youth Forum of Uzbekistan held on 25 December 2020, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the creation of a special fund to finance innovative ideas and youth projects, to which US$100 million will be allocated, and the fund’s funds will be used to implement youth projects at low interest rates and at profitable conditions.
In this context, in order to develop technological youth entrepreneurship in the IT market of the Commonwealth, it seems relevant to hold joint conferences for young entrepreneurs, create acceleration programs with access to the markets of the CIS countries and a joint venture fund to support promising projects, as well as organize mutual trips of active young IT - entrepreneurs to exchange experience.
The practical implementation of the idea of the head of our state on holding joint events to support startups and the active involvement of young entrepreneurs will help create conditions for the development of the market of the CIS countries and the promotion of products of start-up projects of Uzbekistan to foreign markets.
Another, no less important initiative of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, voiced during the summit, was the proposal to develop a Cooperation Program between technology parks of the CIS countries, aimed at strengthening their positions and competitiveness in the global IT market.
Within the framework of the Program, it is planned to provide for the creation of a single platform for IT entrepreneurs of the CIS countries, the establishment of joint cooperation with leading technology parks, the development of a startup ecosystem and the information technology sector, as well as the organization of joint start-up programs and events.
The practical implementation of this Program will give another powerful impetus to the development of the startup ecosystem in Uzbekistan and the emergence of new IT companies in the CIS countries.
At present, Uzbekistan is already working in certain areas with the technology parks of the Commonwealth countries. In particular, partnerships have been established with the Association of Clusters and Technoparks of Russia, the Skolkovo IT cluster and the IT park in Kazan, as well as with the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation to implement joint IT projects, attract Russian venture investors to participate in IT-Park start-up projects and improve the qualifications of personnel.
Nevertheless, today within the CIS there is a significant untapped potential for cooperation in the field of innovation. In this context, the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan to coordinate the efforts of the CIS countries in the innovation sphere will give a significant impetus to the development of this area in the near future and create an interstate innovation space that combines the resources of the national innovation systems of the Commonwealth member states.
By Azamat Sulimanov for the Uzbekistan Daily.
