UN Public Service Forum 2025 Calls for Urgent Digital Acceleration Ahead of 2030 Goals

SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- With just five years remaining to meet the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, attendees at the annual UN Public Service Forum (UNPSF) sounded a clear message that governments must urgently accelerate their digital transformation to deliver inclusive, transparent, and effective public services.

Held for the first time in history in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on June 23-25, the 2025 UNPSF brought together more than 1,000 public sector leaders, digital experts, and international organizations under the theme “Five Years Until 2030: Accelerating Public Service Delivery for a Sustainable Future.”

With participation from leaders across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, the 2025 UNPSF reinforced its role as the world’s leading platform for shaping the future of public service. Attendees explored how to scale innovation, leverage AI, and close digital divides in a rapidly changing global landscape.

“In today’s interconnected world, sharing experiences and innovative practices in digital transformation has become more important than ever. This means finding smarter ways to deliver public services, making government institutions more efficient, nurturing modern leadership, ensuring ongoing training, and identifying the skills future leaders will need”, highlighted Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in his address to the participants of the Forum.

“Digital technologies are not just tools of efficiency. They are levers of equity, trust and transformation. Countries like Estonia, Georgia, Rwanda, and our host country Uzbekistan are showing how foundational digital layers, ID payments, data exchange can transform access to health, education and social protection,” noted Navid Hanif, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.

A major outcome of the three-day Forum was the Samarkand Ministerial Declaration, a global roadmap fostering inclusive, sustainable, and citizen-centered public service. The Declaration also backed a new initiative to promote the global exchange and export of digital public administration tools, reflecting growing demand for cross-border GovTech collaboration.

The Forum emphasized the need for agile, people-centered governance in the face of global disruptions, from climate change to demographic shifts. Panel sessions spotlighted how countries are using digital platforms, data analytics, and innovation labs to reform bureaucracies and improve delivery outcomes—especially for underserved populations.

The host nation, Uzbekistan, showcased its own ambitious digital transformation journey. In recent years, the country has made notable strides in modernizing its public services, improving accessibility, and increasing transparency. In 2024, the country achieved a major milestone by joining the list of countries ranked as having a “very high” E-Government Development Index. It also rose 37 places in the UN’s GovTech Maturity Index, entering the top “A” category.

“Digitization is not merely about introducing new technologies. This is a new format of relations between the state and the people, based on trust, transparency and mutual understanding. Uzbekistan is ready to move forward on this path in close partnership with the international community,” noted Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan’s digital economy is also gaining momentum on the global stage. In 2024, over 26% of the country’s IT sector consisted of foreign residents, reflecting growing international confidence in its digital infrastructure and talent base. The country’s total IT exports reached over 900 mln USD that year, with 2025 projections showing further acceleration. More than 740 companies obtained IT residency through the national accelerator IT Park in 2025 alone, with their combined exports expected to exceed 90 million USD — a testament to Uzbekistan’s emergence as a competitive digital hub in the region.

The Forum, co-organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Government of Uzbekistan, underscored a growing global consensus: digital transformation isn’t optional – it’s essential to delivering better lives and futures for all.

Held since 2003, the Forum has previously been hosted by the USA, Austria, Spain, Tanzania, Bahrain, Morocco, Colombia, Azerbaijan, and South Korea. The Forum was co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Agency for Public Service Development, and the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President of Uzbekistan.

UNSPF 2025
UNSPF 2025
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