The ITU seminar "Regional cooperation of startup ecosystems as a key factor in global digital leadership - Startup Central Eurasia Platform" was held on November 25-26, 2021 in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan in a hybrid format.

The above seminar was attended by representatives of the RCC Communications Administrations: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as employees of the RCC Executive Committee.

The above seminar was opened and a welcoming speech was made by Oleg Andreevich Pekos, First Deputy Minister for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Regional Director of the ITU office for the CIS countries Natalya Mochu.

The ITU seminar was organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) together with the Technological Park of Software and Information Technologies (IT-Park) of Uzbekistan with the support of the Ministry for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Within the framework of the seminar, issues of the development of start-up ecosystems in the countries of the CIS region were discussed, the online platform Startup Central Eurasia Platform and its functionality were presented, proposals for the creation of thematic alliances between interested organizations of the countries of the region focused on the implementation of joint international projects were considered.

Irakli Kashibadze, platform coordinator, founder of Future Laboratory, spoke on the topic "Prospects and advantages of cooperation with the Startup Central Eurasia platform".

Representatives of the following CIS countries made presentations:

- "Development of a startup ecosystem in Uzbekistan" - Farhod Ibragimov, Director of IT Park, Republic of Uzbekistan;

- "How to use the advantages of the Astana International Financial Center of Kazakhstan for startups and venture funds" - Pavel Koktyshev, General Director, Fintech Hub AIFC, Republic of Kazakhstan;

- "Development of a startup ecosystem in Kazakhstan" - Magzhan Madiev, General Director, Astana Hub, Republic of Kazakhstan;

- “Access to Angel Investments in Belarus” - Valery Ostrinsky, Chairman of the Board, Angels Band, Republic of Belarus;

- “Development of a startup ecosystem in Armenia” - Arshak Kerobyan, Head of Digitalization Department, Ministry of High-Tech Industry, Republic of Armenia;

- "Development of the startup ecosystem of Azerbaijan" - Azar Bayramov, advisor to the chairman of the State Agency for the provision of services to citizens and social innovation, the Republic of Azerbaijan;

- “Experience of the Leading Georgian Bank in Investing in Startups” - Andro Ratiani, General Director of Digital Area, Head of Innovation Department, Bank of Georgia;

- "Opportunities for venture financing in Uzbekistan and Central Asia" - Dilshod Zufarov, CEO, Venture Investment Association, Republic of Uzbekistan;

- “Development of a startup ecosystem in Moldova” - Anna Chiritsa, Director for Strategic Projects, Association of ICT Companies, Republic of Moldova;

- “Startup Ecosystem of Ukraine” - Igor Markevich, Innovation Advisor, Ministry of Education and Science, Ukraine;

- “Access to talent in Uzbekistan - how startups and international companies can take advantage of the growing number of programmers” - Botir Arifdzhanov, CEO, ASTRUM, Republic of Uzbekistan;

- “What opportunities are there in Kazakhstan for obtaining venture and angel investments” - Alim Khamitov, CEO, Most Venture, Republic of Kazakhstan;

- "Development and prospects of partnership with the startup ecosystem of Kyrgyzstan" - Chubak Timirov, acting Director of the Hi-Tech Park, Kyrgyz Republic;

- “Startup ecosystem of Tajikistan. Startupstan 2.0 "- Jurazoda Dilshod, Director of the State Business Incubator, Republic of Tajikistan;

- “Sberbank's startup ecosystem and ways of working with innovations” - Artyom Abrichkin, Leading Technology Scout, Sberbank Startup Ecosystem, Russian Federation.

This event made it possible to:

- Take part in the presentation of the Startup Central Eurasia platform;
- Learn about the best practices from the countries of the region in building startup ecosystems;
- Take part in the presentation of the initiative to create thematic alliances aimed at sharing experience and knowledge, creating joint research teams, access to research and tools, improving cooperation between countries;
- Listen to leading international speakers on the development of startups and entering international markets;
- Learn success stories from the best startups in the region

 On the second day, Vitaly Yanko and Tatiana Avlachinskaya shared their experience in organizing new projects and obtaining funding for them with the seminar participants.