Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan

On December 16, the official opening event of the IT Park Uzbekistan representative office was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 
This event marked a significant step in deepening cooperation between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia in the field of information technology. The ceremony was held at The Garage innovation center in Riyadh with the support of “Plug and Play Riyadh”.

The Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sherzod Shermatov, delivered a speech at the event. “Bilateral relations between the innovative ecosystems of Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are developing at a rapid pace. This demonstrates the growing interest of regional partners in our country's fast-growing technological sector”, - stated Shermatov. He emphasized that such initiatives not only strengthen economic cooperation but also create new jobs and open new opportunities for the professional development of local specialists.

Nodirjon Turgunov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia, also addressed the participants. 

In his congratulatory message, Farhod Ibragimov, CEO of IT Park, said: “The opening of IT Park's representative office in Riyadh paves the way for new horizons of cooperation. This step will strengthen the ties between the innovation ecosystems of the two countries and accelerate market integration”.

Additionally, Muhammad Algamdi, Director of Partnerships at Plug and Play Tech Center, and Rajit Nanda, CEO of Datavolt, also spoke at the ceremony. Rajit Nanda highlighted the rapid growth of Uzbekistan's technology sector: “At DataVolt, we are directly observing the dynamic development processes in Uzbekistan by investing in green data centers. This signifies Uzbekistan's readiness to emerge as a global technological hub”.

During the event, guests were introduced to key programs aimed at developing Uzbekistan's IT sector, including opportunities created to support the startup ecosystem.

For reference, earlier this year, IT Park Uzbekistan successfully showcased the country's startup ecosystem at the BIBAN-2024 forum. The forum featured 12 startups, which significantly increased Saudi investors' interest in Uzbek projects. In addition, the Uzbek Tech Conference and several pitch sessions for international startups were organized in Riyadh.

Cooperation between the two countries is further strengthened by joint projects focused on the construction of green data centers with the participation of the company “DataVolt”. This project envisages an investment of $5 billion.

The opening of the IT Park representative office in Saudi Arabia holds significant importance in enhancing the international startup ecosystem, attracting foreign investments, and supporting innovative projects. The office will contribute to expanding the global opportunities of Uzbek companies.

The IT Park office in Saudi Arabia offers the following opportunities for advancing cooperation between the two countries:
- Simplified access for GCC startups to the Central Asian market through Uzbekistan;
- Support for Uzbek startups to enter the GCC market;
- Reduction of operational costs for GCC-based IT companies through back-office services established in Uzbekistan.