As part of a study visit organized for government officials from seven countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, negotiations were held to expand bilateral and regional cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH), and UNDP. 

Mr. Alikhan Baimenov, Chairman of the ACSH Steering Committee, met with the Minister of Personnel Management of the Republic of Korea Mr. Kim Seung Ho. They discussed conducting joint research, expert meetings, exchange of research and analytical publications, as well as mechanisms for studying Korean best practices in civil service culture, ethics and corruption prevention. Mr. Baimenov noted the high role of the professional civil service of the Republic of Korea as one of the fundamental factors of its economic success. At the end of the meeting, the parties signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Hub and the Ministry. According to the participants of the meeting, the signing of the memorandum opens up new cooperation opportunities for the countries of the region in order to improve the civil service.

Mr. Alikhan Baimenov also met with the President of the National Information Society Agency (NIA) Mr. Jongsung Hwang, and with the Director General of the Digital Government Bureau for Public AI of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea Mr. Kyu-chul Hwang. The parties considered the prospects for continuing and expanding the ongoing joint regional project to advance the capacity of civil servants in digitalization and innovation in new regions, particularly in Eastern European and Balkan countries. They discussed and confirmed an early agreement with MOIS Minister Lee Sang-min on new aspects of the partnership and expressed interest in creating conditions for enhancing the digital capacity of the countries in the region.

Currently, the Korean-funded project is being implemented by the MOIS, NIA, UNDP, and the Astana Hub for civil servants of seven countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Since last year, the project has held 6 online and on-site activities, including research, studying best practices in the field of e-government, innovation and digitalization of public services, which were highly appreciated by project beneficiaries.

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A study visit for government representatives from Central Asia and the Caucasus countries was organized within a joint project of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea, the National Information Society Agency of the Republic of Korea, the United Nations Development Program, and the Astana Civil Service Hub, funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea