A regional seminar on innovation and technology applications for sustainable development was held in Bishkek on June 26, 2019.

The workshop was held as part of the 11th session of the working group of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) on knowledge-based development.

The event was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the State Intellectual Property and Innovation Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzpatent).

During the session, the participants reviewed the draft policy document “SPECA Innovation Strategy for Sustainable Development”. The document is aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the national potential and capabilities of the SPECA countries necessary for the formation and implementation of innovation policies for sustainable development, improving the level and quality of regional cooperation on innovation in support of sustainable development.

Kyrgyzpatent Chair Dinara Moldosheva stressed that the innovation development is among the priorities of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“The theme of the event is the important and relevant topic. The UN member states, including the SPECA countries, have set the challenging task of achieving sustainable development goals. Innovations play a key role in the implementation of this ambitious task, since they can contribute both to technological progress and an increase in prosperity,” Moldosheva said.

UNECE experts call for the consolidation of efforts to achieve well-being in all spheres of human life. "Innovation is the engine of progress, and we need to move forward and we can share best practices," said Andrea Bagnoli, Country Director of the United Nations World Food Program in the Kyrgyz Republic, in his message.

The UNECE representative and head of the “Innovation Review of the Kyrgyz Republic” project, Ralph Heinrich, said that for the first time this event was attended by representatives of all SPECA countries and this would help promote common goals in all areas.

During the event, country reports on national policy priorities, considered for inclusion in the innovative sustainable development strategy, were heard.

Innovative approaches to nationwide reduction of multiple risks in Central Asia, statistics and application of innovative technologies from Asian countries were discussed. The best practices of creating technology parks, the application of technology and the commercialization of knowledge were presented.

The event was attended by experts from the UNECE, ESCAP, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Japan.

The IBC representative took part in the workshop.

The UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was established in 1998 and currently covers Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. SPECA aims to strengthen subregional cooperation in the Central Asian region.

The goal of SPECA is to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of the participating countries and to promote subregional cooperation.