Multinational telecoms group VEON announced yesterday that it will advise and provide digitalisation services to the Uzbekistan government during the country’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), following a meeting between Laziz Kudratov, First Deputy Minister of Investments & Foreign Trade, and VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu. VEON has been present in Uzbekistan through its Beeline-branded local operating company since 2006, and the cellco will participate in the implementation of the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 programme, while intending to increase its volume of investments in the country’s economy by USD250 million over the next five years.
VEON’s statement continued: ‘The success of Uzbekistan’s WTO application will be influenced by the digitalisation of the economy of Uzbekistan, which is striving to become one of the technological leaders in Central Asia. For the world community, what is important is not only the general state of the country’s economy, but how the level of technology development in Uzbekistan has increased. By investing in the infrastructure of VEON’s mobile operator, Beeline Uzbekistan, we are striving to make digital services available to residents and businesses throughout the country, which will no doubt be an additional advantage for Uzbekistan’s WTO application.’