Minister of Digital Development of Kyrgyzstan Dastan Dogoev, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Juri Seilenthal launched the first in the history of Kyrgyzstan Twinning program (Support to digitalization agenda in the Kyrgyz Republic), Trend reports citing Kabar.
The launch of the program took place within the framework of the First European Union - Central Asia Economic Forum, which will be held tomorrow in Bishkek.
The program supports the Kyrgyz government in promoting transparency and accountability through e-government and is implemented as part of a unique format of equitable cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and a consortium of EU member states - Estonia, Finland and Italy.
Minister of Digital Development of Kyrgyzstan said that the program implies a new format for the exchange of knowledge, experience and technologies in the field of sustainable digital development.
“Within the framework of the program, we have identified three areas in which a lot of work is planned, namely, increasing the potential of state and municipal employees, digitalization of state and municipal services and cybersecurity,” he said.
At the same time, Dombrovskis pointed out that the Twinning is a tool to support the administration of the partner countries, allowing to take advantage of the experience of the EU member states.
“It is good example of the “Team Europe” approach, upon which the EU builds its strength. The three Member States participating in this Twinning programme – Estonia, Finland, and Italy - will bring complementary forms of know-how in the digital sector. As a peer-to-peer exchange instrument, twinning embodies what we mean by international partnerships: working collaboratively and learning from each other,” he said.
The vice president of the EC also noted that the ambitious digital strategy of the Kyrgyz government contains many important elements aimed at supporting complex digital transformation.
“These include transparent and accountable e-services and cybersecurity, to name just two. An improved digital environment can create new jobs and educational opportunities, improve governance, and support young people, and women in particular, to reap the benefits of the economy of the future. Thus, the digital strategy of the Kyrgyz government is supported by the EU through our digitalization program, adopted last year. It provides the basis for launching this Twinning operation today,” explained Dombrovskis.
Twinning program is designed until 2023, the initial EU contribution was EUR 2 million.
The goal of the program is to build the capacity of national authorities to to manage and guide the development of e-government and to improve governance transparency and accountability. The main target group is the government, youth, urban and rural population.