President Mirziyoyev sets goal for Uzbekistan to join top 50 AI nations by 2030

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, during which he instructed that all government databases be transferred to a unified e-government data center.

The president emphasized the importance of training specialists in AI. Starting from the 2026–2027 academic year, AI-related topics will be added to the school informatics curriculum, which will be developed jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

An AI cluster operating on the “industry – university – partner” model will be established at the New Uzbekistan University, and AI laboratories will be created at 19 other universities.

The university will train 1,400 instructor-trainers who will, in turn, teach educators in other institutions through a cascade training system. In addition, the university will launch joint AI programs with universities ranked in the world’s top 300.

State grant quotas for disciplines such as AI, fintech, IT engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, and aerospace technologies will increase by 35%. Inter-university AI solution development competitions will also be held.

As part of the One Million AI Leaders program, 100,000 people are expected to be trained this year and 500,000 in 2026. A national AI competition will be held annually, where the 500 best school students will receive laptops, 100 teachers will be awarded cash prizes, and two top educational institutions will receive electric vehicles.

While Uzbek startups have attracted $264 million in investments since the beginning of the year, AI projects account for only a small share of that total. To stimulate growth in the sector, a nationwide AI startup competition with a $1 million prize fund will be organized.

“By 2030, our goal is to enter the top 50 countries in the field of artificial intelligence. Based on the experience of leading nations, we will establish an AI Alliance,” the president said.

The AI Alliance will unite leading companies, banks, universities, and foreign experts, including Uzbek professionals abroad. It will focus on cooperation with global accelerators and research centers, organizing international PR campaigns for Uzbekistan’s AI sector, and ensuring participation in global exhibitions and conferences.