From vocational training to AI governance: KOICA's evolving role in Central Asia
Officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Uzbekistan shake hands as they sign an agreement to establish a foundation for digital education at the IT Park high-tech complex in Uzbekistan in this undated photo. Courtesy of KOICA
Korea's development aid to Central Asia, once rooted in vocational training and rural development, is pivoting toward artificial intelligence (AI) and digital governance, a shift that mirrors both the region's ambitions and Seoul's strategy to build lasting partnerships amid a fast-changing geopolitical landscape.
Between 1992 and 2025, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) channeled roughly $440 million in official development assistance (ODA) to the five Central Asian states. Uzbekistan received the largest share, followed by Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Education took up the biggest slice at 30.2 percent, public administration accounted for 24.9 percent, while technology, environment and energy made up 18.8 percent.
For much of that period, KOICA's work in the region centered on conventional development needs: vocational training centers, primary health care programs, rural infrastructure and capacity building in the energy sector. The turning point came around 2021, when governments across Central Asia began pressing for digitized public services and information systems and turned to Korea's AI-driven solutions to get there.
The shift has been quick. As of 2026, 11 AI and digital governance projects in the public sector are either underway or preparing for launch across the region, spanning parliaments, public safety, disaster management, cultural heritage and education.
A local Uzbek instructor, trained under KOICA's instructional capacity-building program, conducts IT training for young people at IT Park in this undated photo. Courtesy of KOICA
11 projects, 5 countries, 1 digital shift
Uzbekistan stands out as the region’s most proactive adopter of digitalization and AI. Out of 11 ongoing projects across Central Asia, eight are based in Uzbekistan, including three dedicated to AI-powered e-government services.
The most visible case is KOICA's support for IT Park, a state-backed technology hub established in July 2019 under Tashkent's national digital strategy. Designated as an economic free zone with tax breaks and financial incentives for tenant companies, the complex was designed to attract foreign direct investment and foster the domestic IT sector from the ground up by driving information and communication technology (ICT) research, business incubation and workforce training.
Since 2021, KOICA has supported IT Park by establishing its operational model, building capacity for administrative staff and tenant companies and constructing IT network infrastructure, while delivering intermediate and advanced IT skills training and facilitating business process outsourcing partnerships between Korean and Uzbek enterprises.
The numbers alone are telling. After KOICA's support program wrapped up in 2025, total revenue for tenant companies surged 7.6-fold — from 2.5 trillion som ($210 million) to 19 trillion som.
That track record opened the door to deeper cooperation. In 2025, KOICA began working with the Uzbek government on AI-driven administrative cooperation, including legal services, a digital parliamentary system and a disaster management platform.
Kyrgyz IT officials manage systems inside the monitoring room at the G-Cloud Center, the nation’s first unified state data infrastructure made with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), in this undated photo. Courtesy of KOICA
Under a multiyear road map with KOICA, Korean AI algorithms will be integrated into specialized administrative workflows in Uzbekistan, including an intellectual property management project running through 2029 and a legal services environment development project through 2030. By 2030, Tashkent also aims to overhaul its public sector workforce by launching an AI policy master plan, introducing new work assessment tools, educator training and state-of-the-art digital learning platforms.
Beyond Uzbekistan's AI initiatives, KOICA is rolling out e-government projects across the region, drawing on Korea's own public administration models.
In Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the agency is modernizing legislative processes through electronic parliamentary meeting and broadcasting systems, set for completion by 2027. Assistance in Tajikistan focuses on digitizing government data and workflows, while projects in Kyrgyzstan target broader public systems across both administration and parliament.
Uzbekistan's portfolio is the most diverse, stretching into areas such as an integrated geological hazard database and early warning system, digital cultural heritage management and virtual reality-based police training.
This photo shows digital infrastructure established under the G-Cloud initiative (2020-25) between Kyrgyzstan and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to build Kyrgyzstan’s digitized administrative system. Courtesy of KOICA
From support to bilateral partnership
KOICA's approach in Central Asia avoids direct systemic transfer. Because the five nations occupy distinct stages of development — with varying digital infrastructure, human resources, governance structures and policy priorities — the agency designs localized services tailored to each country's institutions and capacity, with the goal of ensuring long-term operational independence after assistance ends.
The philosophy aligns with Korea's Fourth Comprehensive Strategy for Development Cooperation, which emphasizes mutually beneficial growth, innovative execution using AI and ICT strengths and integrated development that links individual projects to broader outcomes.
Choi Jang-hoon, director of KOICA's Eurasia Team, said AI and digital technologies offer Central Asia a practical way to overcome the physical constraints of being a landlocked, mountainous region.
"Beyond improving governance and public services, these projects are accelerating the region's industrial transformation. Central Asian governments have shown strong interest in partnering with KOICA on AI and digital initiatives," Choi said.
He noted that digital ODA projects also open doors for Korean tech firms looking to enter Central Asian markets.
"Given the policy priorities on both sides and the direction of global industrial shifts, AI and digital cooperation between Korea and Central Asia is set to keep growing," he said.
KOICA will continue pursuing such initiatives to strengthen bilateral ties and foster mutually beneficial growth, Choi added.
KOICA considers national interest not as short-term economic gain, but as long-term, reciprocal benefits — where the sustainable growth of Central Asia strengthens Korea's diplomatic standing in the region, creates openings for bilateral partnerships in trade and technology and narrows the global digital divide in the process.