EU best digital practices pave the way for continuing digital transformation in Kyrgyzstan

On the 3rd of October the closing event of the EU-supported twinning project was held in Bishkek to sum up the results and achievements of the project.

Within the EU-funded twinning project “Support to Digitalisation Agenda in Kyrgyzstan” 86 digital transformation experts from Estonia, Finland and Italy made in total of 905 days of consultations and engaged 370 Kyrgyzstan government officials with seminars, meetings and workshops. Moreover, during the project 5 study visits to Estonia, Finland and Italy were made to introduce the EU best practices.

Photo: Discussion of digital Kyrgyzstan development plans. From left Lotta Fors (Haus), Vittorio Vallerino (CSI-Piemonte), Nuriya Kutnaeva, Tõnis Mäe (eGA), Hannes Astok (eGA)

At the event Nuriya Kutnaeva, Minister of Digital Development of Kyrgyzstan highlighted the benefits gained from the twinning project. „For two years, there has been a successful cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the countries of the European Union. Thanks to this cooperation, there has been an exchange of best world-class practices and experience in the development of digital skills, government services, data protection, and cybersecurity. And this is exactly what we need to continue Kyrgyzstan’s digital journey,“ said Kutnaeva.

Marilyn Josefson, EU Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, said in her welcome address, that it is important for the European Union not only to improve the digital public services of Kyrgyzstan but also to pay wider attention to human development, increase trust, openness, and transparency of public administration. “We are pleased that Kyrgyzstan continues its efforts with the jointly initiated changes in the digital sphere and look forward to continuing with strong cooperation,” said Josefson.

The twinning project had four main goals: improve digital skills, enhance access to public e-services, enhance citizen privacy and data protection, and increase national cybersecurity. 

The project achieved the following outcomes: 

• The Innovation Centre of Digital Competencies has the knowledge and skills to develop and conduct training programs and enrol certified trainees; 
• 5 data analytics courses for 147 people were conducted, 61% of participants were women; 
• The Tunduk data exchange platform was upgraded to the newest version and 94 IT administrators were trained to ensure secure public service provision; 
• Recommendations to improve the data quality of the Sanarip Aimak system were developed;
• An online public awareness platform on data protection, data privacy, and citizen’s rights was launched jointly with the Data Protection Agency; 
• Recommendations to improve data protection standards in line with GDPR were developed;
• The cybersecurity on-site course was developed for the Data Protection Agency; 
• Cybersecurity-related legislation, security standards and information security requirements were improved. As a result of cybersecurity consultations Kyrgyzstan’s cybersecurity level in the National Cyber Security Index increased. At present Kyrgyzstan stands in the second position among the Central Asian countries. (ncsi.ega.ee)
• Recommendations on how to collaborate with other national cybersecurity units were delivered to help the government cope with cyber-attacks. 

The digital skills improvement was accomplished by the Haus (Finland) and the Innovation Centre of Digital Competencies. The improvement of access to public e-services was fulfilled by the e-Governance Academy (Estonia) and the Ministry of Digital Development. The enhancement of citizen privacy and data protection was accomplished by the CSI Piemonte (Italy) and the Data Protection Agency. The improvement of national cybersecurity was fulfilled by the e-Governance Academy, the Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the State Committee for National Security and the Ministry of Digital Development. 

Photo: Twinning team

The EU Member State Project Manager, Executive Director of eGA (Estonia) Hannes Astok noted the Kyrgyzstan Government has achieved good results in digitalisation within a few years and the knowledge shared empowers the digital transformation even more. „Every government finds its way of how to create a digital ecosystem for public service provision and secure cyberspace. Engaging best practices makes the way shorter and more effective. It was our pleasure to share the EU best practices with Kyrgyzstan,” said Astok.

Background information:

The EU-funded twinning project “Support to Digitalisation Agenda in Kyrgyzstan” run in 2021 – 2023. The project supported the digital development of Kyrgyzstan by increasing the capacity of the Ministry of Digital Development, Data Protection Agency, and Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the State Committee for National Security and other national authorities to manage and lead the digital transformation and to promote transparency and accountability. The work facilitated the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal SDG 9 “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation” and the implementation of the government’s Digital Concept and the related Kyrgyz Digital Transformation Roadmap 2019-2023. The project was implemented by the consortium led by the e-Governance Academy (eGA, Estonia) in close collaboration with the HAUS (Finland), CSI-Piemonte (Italy) and the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic. The total sum of the project was € 2 million.