Training Report: Transforming the Cities by Developing Business and Enhancing the Service Sector

April 21, 2021

Between 3 and 6 November, 2020, mayors and deputy mayors of 35 mid-sized cities in Uzbekistan completed online training on Transforming Cities by Developing Business and Enhancing the Service Sector, supported by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), under its Cities Project framework.

This one-week online training workshop was initiated by the Uzbekistan Republican Graduate School of Business and Management (GSBE), under the Ministry of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to transform these cities to become service-oriented for all population by supporting entrepreneurship and enhancing their service sector, for the mayors and their deputies in mid-size Uzbek cities. The Cities Project team, upon the invitation of co-organizer the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan (UNDP), facilitated this initiative by securing seven trainers from China and funding from the China Association for Trade in Services (CATIS).

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The training focused on innovative solutions in the areas of digitalization, e-commerce, public-private partnership (PPP), and entrepreneurship. According to survey results, the training achieved expected results in delivering the expected knowledge on public service development and innovation and brokering city-to-city partnerships between cities in China and Uzbekistan, as well as other Southern countries. Moreover, it was identified that Uzbek cities have strong interest in South-South cooperation with Chinese cities for the cooperation in developing industrial park, tourism, science and technology.