On March 15, 2021 the opening ceremony of the First IT Expo "Connect.KG" was held via videoconference with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Mr. Ulukbek Maripov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Mr. Nuran Niyazaliev, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the US to the Kyrgyz Republic Mr. Donald Lu, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Japan to the Kyrgyz Republic Sigeki Maeda and Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Great Britain to the Kyrgyz Republic Charles Garrett.

In welcoming speech, the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Ulukbek Maripov emphasized the growing potential of the IT industry in Kyrgyzstan and called on international participants to actively cooperate with the Kyrgyz IT sector. He noted that the field of ICT is a priority on the agenda of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and informed about the measures taken to develop the IT sector.

First Deputy Minister Nuran Niyazaliev indicated that the development of the IT industry and the increase in the export of IT services will contribute to the recovery of the country’s economy after the consequences of COVID-19. He also emphasized successful examples of development of initiatives and developers of software and services, as well as our compatriots who have achieved certain heights abroad in various world famous companies. He expressed confidence that Kyrgyzstan will take its rightful place in the world economy due to technologies and innovations that will allow Kyrgyzstanis and local businesses to be competitive. At the same time, he suggested holding this event on an annual basis.

On the opening day of IT Expo, the heads of diplomatic missions of the United States, Japan and Great Britain in the Kyrgyz Republic made welcoming speeches, who emphasized the importance of holding this event and expressed the hope that online meetings that will take place during the current week will allow IT / start-up companies in Kyrgyzstan to establish cooperation with the world's leading companies for the exchange of experience and business outsourcing.

It is worth noting that IT Expo "Connect.KG" will be held from 15^th to 19^th of March. The Expo will invite local and international participants to attend virtual panel and B2B sessions that will be broadcasted live from High Technology Park, AUCA, Ololo House and the University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan. International representatives from Facebook, Amazon Web Services UK, Cambridge Partnership, Dell, LinkedIn, SAP, Juniper Networks, SeeRem, Clarity Movement Co., EPEM, Nokia, FabLab Bishkek and EGIS, along with other industry experts, will host webinars on digital marketing, e-commerce and digital transformation. Successful Kyrgyz tech entrepreneurs including Tilek Mamutov (Outtalent), Esen Niyazov (Peaksoft) and Nikita Ryzhikh (FitJab) will share their experience in the US and the international market and provide advice to aspiring IT engineers and programmers.

For reference:

IT Expo is sponsored by USAID and other international and local partners. B2B sections will be held in the following areas:

- business solutions;

- IT education and distance learning;

- financial technologies;

- e-commerce;

- digital health, science and tourism;

- electronic control, digital transformation;

- open / electronic Government;

- new technologies in Kyrgyzstan, etc.

The main goal of the event is to achieve concrete results in the form of creating an effective platform that will attract the necessary international attention to the IT sector of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as foreign investments in existing and future IT companies, will contribute to business partnership between IT companies of Kyrgyzstan and leading IT companies of the USA, UK, EU, Japan and South Korea, which will stimulate the economy, create new jobs and empower Kyrgyz youth.