February 3, 2020 Appeal for Proposals for Services related to Promotion of ICT Cooperation with the Republic of Uzbekistan

In promoting Japan’s ICT cooperation with the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter referred to as “Uzbekistan”), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has decided to make an appeal for proposals for ICT-related services that contribute to the socio-economic development of Uzbekistan.

1. Background and Purpose

MIC signed a comprehensive memorandum on cooperation with the State Committee for Communications, Information and Telecommunications Technologies of Uzbekistan in January 2014 for the purpose of strengthening the cooperative relationship between Japan and Uzbekistan in the field of information and communications technology to achieve the sustainable development of Uzbekistan’s society and quality of life. Since then, MIC has been promoting cooperation in the ICT field, including the provision of digital terrestrial broadcasting equipment and the enhancement and new construction of backbone communication networks.
In December 2019, MIC signed a new memorandum on cooperation with the Ministry for Development of Information Technology and Communication of Uzbekistan (hereinafter referred to as “MITC”), to promote the further cooperation between the countries in the field of information and communications.
This memorandum promotes opinions and exchanges on ICT policies and regulations through policy dialogue while organizing business meetings to provide information and experience to solve social issues, such those of education, medical care, disaster management, and environmental protection, using ICT infrastructure and ICT. MIC is preparing for practical consultation on specific procedures.
In addition to implementing these initiatives, MIC will propose the creation of new services utilizing ICT infrastructure and ICT, which MIC thinks will contribute to the socio-economic development of Uzbekistan and Japanese companies with knowledge of ICT services can expand the possibility of developing related businesses and social activities in Uzbekistan.
From the above point of view, MIC will appeal for proposals and ideas from private companies and other stakeholders in order to make suggestions with the aim of building broad and mutually beneficial cooperative relationships in the future with Uzbekistan.
Furthermore, for the purpose of establishing a cooperative relationship between MITC, Uzbekistani companies, and Japanese companies, MIC is thinking of dispatching joint public-private missions in the future to hold proposal meetings for new services for the country and visit local companies. Also, MIC is thinking of providing support for the realization of proposals and ideas through negotiations with the government of Uzbekistan by taking the opportunity of Japanese companies’ advance to the country in connection with the appeal for proposals.

2. Overview of appeal for opinions

• 1.
  Details of appeal for opinions: See the PDF link.
• 2.
  Submission deadline: No later than 6:00 pm on Friday, February 28, 2020
• 3.
  Submission style: See the proposal link. Submit the proposal with an attached document (in free format).

3. Handling of proposals

• 1.
  The contents of proposals submitted will be used for MIC’s references for future discussions with Uzbekistan and will not be open to the public. (A summary of the results, such as the total number of proposals, may be made public. In that case, MIC will consult the proposers individually.)
• 2.
  Depending on the proposal, MIC may ask for an individual interview or additional material to be submitted. Furthermore, it is assumed that proposals that are highly feasible will be directly proposed and explained to the Uzbekistan government, Uzbekistani companies, and other related parties.

4. Future plan

MIC is planning to dispatch a joint public-private mission around May 2020 (subject to change based on discussions with Uzbekistan, proposals, and other situations).