H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK met with H.E. Mr. Rostislav KONYASHKIN, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the 40^th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul, Türkiye.

During the meeting, H.E. SELÇUK congratulated Kazakhstan for its remarkable progress in e-government development. She noted that Kazakhstan's achievement in improving its E-Government Development Index score—from 0.39 in 2003 (ranked 83rd) to over 0.90 in 2024 (ranked 24th)—was a clear indication of the country’s commitment to digital modernization and governance innovation. She expressed SESRIC’s readiness to continue supporting Kazakhstan in its digital transformation journey through tailored capacity-building programs that leverage SESRIC's expertise in the fields of e-government, digital skills development, and innovation.

In his response, H.E. Rostislav KONYASHKIN thanked H.E. SELÇUK for the productive discussion and for SESRIC’s continued support in advancing Kazakhstan’s development objectives. He highlighted Kazakhstan’s commitment to enhancing its digital infrastructure and governance frameworks as part of its broader vision to modernize the public sector and improve service delivery to its citizens. H.E. KONYASHKIN expressed his appreciation for the numerous capacity-building activities organized by SESRIC for Kazakhstan’s public institutions and conveyed Kazakhstan’s strong interest in expanding the scope of their cooperation, particularly in the digital transformation and innovation sectors, and reaffirmed the country’s dedication to further strengthening its partnership with SESRIC in the years to come.

SESRIC and Kazakhstan have developed a strong collaborative relationship, with SESRIC having organized 84 capacity-building activities to date, benefiting various public institutions in Kazakhstan.

The meeting concluded with both sides expressing their mutual agreement to expand SESRIC’s support to Kazakhstan’s ambitious digital development agenda and the broader objectives of the OIC.