Uzbekistan has called for closer digital cooperation with Azerbaijan and other Central Asian states, proposing the creation of a unified regional IT hub to boost innovation and global competitiveness.

The initiative was presented by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov during a seminar on the development of a digital highway, held on the sidelines of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in Samarkand, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

Shermatov urged Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan to join efforts in positioning Central Asia as a single integrated digital space rather than separate national markets.

He highlighted ongoing work on harmonizing telecommunications frequencies and expanding cross-border connectivity, saying such coordination helps reduce network interference and improve efficiency in border regions.

The minister also pointed to growing regional momentum in the IT sector, citing recent cooperation initiatives involving Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, including joint participation in AI hackathons and digital innovation events.

Shermatov noted that combining strengths-such as Kazakhstan’s venture capital market and Uzbekistan’s young startup-driven workforce-could create strong synergy and help the region compete globally.

The proposal envisions joint representation of regional tech products at major international platforms, including Silicon Valley and the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, signaling ambitions to elevate Central Asia and neighboring partners onto the global digital stage.