Chief Executive John Lee announced a series of innovation and technology agreements with Uzbekistan, following a visit to the Central Asian nation’s flagship IT hub on Friday.

Writing on his social media, Lee detailed the delegation’s visit to Uzbekistan IT Park, a national special economic zone in Tashkent, where they met with Ayubkhon Sultanov, Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies.

He said the IT Park serves as a core engine for Uzbekistan’s digital economic transformation, offering tax incentives and rental concessions and facilitating visa arrangements to attract tech enterprises and talent.

The park, he said, is central to implementing the “Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy” and the country’s national AI Strategy.

The CE noted that while Uzbekistan is accelerating its economic transformation and I&T development, Hong Kong — as an international financial centre — is actively building itself into a global innovation hub.

“Leveraging its world-class financing platform, professional services and unique bridging role connecting the mainland and international markets, Hong Kong is highly complementary to Uzbekistan’s development,” the CE wrote.

Both places, he added, are important partners within the Belt and Road Initiative and can strengthen exchanges of development experience.

Lee said senior executives from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), Cyberport and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP) signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with IT Park during the visit.

The agreements aim to establish platforms for startup incubation, acceleration programmes and cross-border market access.

Under the deals, Uzbekistan’s I&T companies would gain a strategic gateway into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and global markets, while Hong Kong enterprises would be able to tap into Uzbekistan’s young IT talent pool for software development and innovative collaborations.

“Going forward, we can further synergise the innovation and technology ecosystems of both sides, explore collaborative projects and achieve complementary advantages and win-win partnerships,” the CE said.

Lee concludes his Central Asia trip on Friday.


Edited by Tony Sabine