President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting Aug. 23 with Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev, according to akorda.kz, during which the minister reported on the development of the Digital Kazakhstan programme.
Photo credit: akorda.kz.
Nazarbayev stressed the relevance of large-scale digitalisation of the economy in the context of growing global competition.
“Today this issue is being brought to the forefront. The whole world is moving in this direction, and we must not lag behind, which is a very difficult task. It is necessary that all departments, ministries and regions work together well,” said Nazarbayev.
Abayev reviewed the four priority areas identified in the new programme.
“We have discussed the draft programme with all interested parties. The Digital Kazakhstan programme outlines four main directions of work – development of infrastructure, improvement of human capital, digitalisation of economic sectors and improvement of the system of provision of public services,” he said.
The President gave a number of specific instructions to end the meeting.
The main goal of the Digital Kazakhstan programme is the progressive development of the country’s digital ecosystem to achieve sustainable economic growth, improve the competitiveness of the economy and the nation, and improve the quality of life of the population.
The programme will be presented Sept. 13.
“We are well aware that infrastructure is important for such a large country as Kazakhstan. The penetration rate of the internet exceeds 70 percent, but its quality varies. In cities and towns with more than 2,000 people, the internet connection is good. But in Kazakhstan, 47 percent of the population lives in rural settlements. Therefore, if we do not build the infrastructure now, it will be difficult to even the digital inequality between the village and the city,” said Abayev during the Eurasian Week forum.
