DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF CENTRAL ASIAN STATES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the power of digital technologies
and highlighted the importance of digital transformation, especially, for Central Asian States (CAS) –
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Digital transformation has the potential
to modernize and integrate national economies of developing countries into the global economy, overcome
major constraints, ensure digital upgrade and build information society for the benefit of the population in
the post-pandemic recovery period. Under these circumstances, CAS intend to improve their digital capacity
and policy reforms to overcome current and future challenges. In this regard, the research
paper analyses the digitalization policy of CAS and its digital responses to the global pandemic. The
paper discusses limits and problems hindering digital development in the Central Asian region, and also
presents policy recommendations to improve the digital transformation of CAS.