[INTERVIEW] Kyrgyzstan runs its own digital gov't after 5-year Korean partnership

Nurlan Aidiev said Kyrgyzstan now runs its own digital government system after a five-year KOICA partnership that ended last year. The project built G-Cloud and an e-government platform that lets citizens obtain certificates online in minutes. Aidiev said the system now covers most government bodies and has continued evolving after the Korean project ended. Local engineers have even integrated AI into identity verification for driver’s license issuance.

The KOICA project was formally titled Modernization and Capacity Development of the Advanced Administrative Information Sharing and Interoperability System in Kyrgyzstan.

It ran from 2020 through 2025 under KOICA’s official development assistance project.

Aidiev said the electronic document management system now takes up to five minutes to deliver any letter.

Kyrgyzstan and KOICA are also working on two e-government initiatives through 2027, including digitizing the parliamentary system and building a national digital training center.

Published Sep 16, 2026 12:00 pm KST

Updated Sep 16, 2026 12:13 pm KST

Nurlan Aidiev / Courtesy of Nurlan Aidiev

For most Kyrgyz citizens, obtaining an official document or updating an administrative record used to mean days of legwork under a paper-based system. Physical mail between regions could take up to two weeks.

That changed last year when a five-year development initiative by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) helped the Kyrgyz government build an e-government system that lets citizens secure government certificates online from home in minutes.

“We digitalized everything. We have an electronic document management system (which) almost covers all of our territory and all of our government bodies, and now it takes up to five minutes to deliver any letter,” Nurlan Aidiev, a Kyrgyz government official, said in an interview with The Korea Times.

From vocational training to AI governance: KOICA's evolving role in Central Asia

Aidiev oversaw the technical buildout of G-Cloud — the centralized government cloud system that now underpins all state data in Kyrgyzstan — as deputy director of IT infrastructure at InfoCom, the country's state information technology agency. The project, formally titled Modernization and Capacity Development of the Advanced Administrative Information Sharing and Interoperability System in Kyrgyzstan, ran from 2020 through 2025 under KOICA's official development assistance (ODA) project. He currently serves as deputy director at Kyzmat, a state institution under the Presidential Affairs Department of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Kyrgyzstan was a natural fit for the initiative. Compared with its Central Asian neighbors, the country had a relatively solid digital infrastructure base and higher citizen participation in online services, which translated into strong demand for government digitization. That profile aligned with KOICA's evolving ODA strategy, which increasingly prioritizes digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions.

Kyrgyz IT officials manage systems inside the G-Cloud Center, the Central Asian nation’s first unified state data infrastructure made with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Courtesy of KOICA

Building from ground up

However, the infrastructure had to be built from scratch, and that proved far from simple.

Korean experts spent months on site sharing the government's expertise in data migration and systems engineering, but the complex source code presented a steep learning curve for the Kyrgyz team, Aidiev recalled. Local engineers, including system administrators and software developers, worked closely with their Korean counterparts and pushed themselves to master the system so they could run it independently after the project's completion.

“It was a really complex task because many of our specialists were involved, including not only system administrators but also software developers, because some legacy informational systems needed modernization deeply in source code,” he said. “The project was not simply about installing technology. It was about creating a sustainable digital government infrastructure and local capacity to operate.”

He spoke warmly about the working relationship with the Korean team, recalling how one engineer — a key architect of the project — grew close enough with local colleagues to be given a Kyrgyz name.

“We became really close friends and gave him a Kyrgyzstan name, Nurbek … Korean guys are really open-minded. They can make friendships and are very helpful.”

Technology was only half the challenge. The other half was persuading public servants — many of whom had limited digital literacy and little motivation to change — to adopt the new system.

“(Some people) just didn't want to change anything and didn’t want to cooperate with us when we came to launch our electronic systems,” Aidiev said.

Kyrgyz IT officials manage systems inside the monitoring room at the G-Cloud Center, the nation’s first unified state data infrastructure made with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Courtesy of KOICA

The team responded with intensive, ground-level training that started with the absolute basics.

“We had to provide them with very basic training programs. We started from the equipment that you need to work in a digital environment. We trained them on what a keyboard is, what a mouse is, what a monitor is,” he said. “(We warned them that) you must change or else, you will be outside of the system. It was the biggest motivation for them.”

Months of rigorous training and dedicated local staff outreach paid off, fueled by a shared commitment to advancing the country’s digital transformation. The system is now widely adopted and has become second nature to younger public servants, who grew up with mobile devices and computers.

Growing beyond project

The project's most telling outcome may be what happened after KOICA's involvement ended. Local engineers independently integrated AI into identity verification for driver's license issuance — a milestone that demonstrates how the country is building a self-sustaining digital ecosystem on the infrastructure KOICA helped put in place.

Beyond G-Cloud, KOICA and the Kyrgyz government are partnering on two additional e-government initiatives running through 2027: one to digitize the parliamentary system and another to construct a national digital training center. The Kyrgyz government is also upgrading G-Cloud on its own.

“We had a great experience with G-Cloud,” Aidiev said. “We will be very happy to work with KOICA again if possible.”

努尔兰·艾迪耶夫表示，吉尔吉斯斯坦在与韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）为期五年的合作结束后，现已拥有了自己的数字政府系统。该项目于去年结束，并构建了G-Cloud云平台和一个电子政务平台，使公民能够在几分钟内在线获取各种证书。艾迪耶夫说，该系统目前已覆盖大部分政府机构，并在韩国项目结束后继续发展完善。当地工程师甚至将人工智能技术集成到驾驶执照签发的身份验证系统中。

KOICA 项目的正式名称为“吉尔吉斯斯坦高级行政信息共享和互操作性系统的现代化和能力发展”。

该项目是韩国国际合作署（KOICA）官方发展援助项目的一部分，从2020年持续到2025年。

艾迪耶夫表示，电子文档管理系统现在最多需要五分钟才能送达任何一封信件。

吉尔吉斯斯坦和韩国国际合作署（KOICA）正在合作开展两项电子政务计划，目标是在2027年之前实现议会系统的数字化和国家数字培训中心的建设。

发布于2026年9月16日韩国时间下午12:00

更新于2026年9月16日下午12:13（韩国标准时间）

努尔兰·艾迪耶夫 / 由努尔兰·艾迪耶夫提供

对于大多数吉尔吉斯斯坦公民来说，在纸质系统下，获取官方文件或更新行政记录过去意味着要花费数天时间奔波。地区间的纸质邮件可能需要长达两周的时间才能送达。

去年，韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）的一项为期五年的发展计划帮助吉尔吉斯斯坦政府建立了一个电子政务系统，使公民能够在几分钟内从家中在线获得政府证书，这种情况发生了改变。

“我们实现了全面数字化。我们拥有一个电子文档管理系统，几乎覆盖了我们所有的领土和政府机构，现在递送任何一封信件最多只需要五分钟，”吉尔吉斯斯坦政府官员努尔兰·艾迪耶夫在接受《韩国时报》采访时表示。

从职业培训到人工智能治理：韩国国际合作署在中亚地区不断演变的角色

艾迪耶夫曾任吉尔吉斯斯坦国家信息技术机构InfoCom的IT基础设施副主任，负责G-Cloud（吉尔吉斯斯坦集中式政府云系统，目前支撑着该国所有国家数据）的技术建设。该项目正式名称为“吉尔吉斯斯坦高级行政信息共享与互操作性系统现代化和能力建设”，由韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）的官方发展援助（ODA）项目资助，于2020年至2025年实施。他目前担任吉尔吉斯斯坦总统事务部下属国家机构Kyzmat的副主任。

吉尔吉斯斯坦与这项倡议天然契合。与中亚邻国相比，该国拥有相对完善的数字基础设施，公民在线服务参与度更高，这转化为对政府数字化的强劲需求。这一特点与韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）不断发展的官方发展援助（ODA）战略相契合，该战略日益重视数字化和人工智能（AI）驱动的解决方案。

吉尔吉斯斯坦的IT官员负责管理G-Cloud中心内的系统。G-Cloud中心是这个中亚国家首个与韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）合作建设的统一国家数据基础设施。图片由KOICA提供。

从零开始建造

然而，基础设施必须从零开始建设，而这远非易事。

据艾迪耶夫回忆，韩国专家在吉尔吉斯斯坦现场驻扎数月，分享政府在数据迁移和系统工程方面的专业知识，但复杂的源代码给吉尔吉斯斯坦团队带来了巨大的学习挑战。当地工程师，包括系统管理员和软件开发人员，与韩国同行密切合作，努力掌握系统，以便在项目完成后能够独立运行。

他说：“这是一项非常复杂的任务，因为我们很多专家都参与其中，不仅包括系统管理员，还有软件开发人员，因为一些遗留信息系统需要对源代码进行深度现代化改造。这个项目不仅仅是安装技术，而是要创建一个可持续的数字政府基础设施和本地运营能力。”

他热情地谈到了与韩国团队的工作关系，回忆起一位工程师——该项目的关键架构师——如何与当地同事建立了深厚的友谊，以至于被赋予了一个吉尔吉斯名字。

“我们成了非常要好的朋友，还给他取了个吉尔吉斯斯坦名字，努尔别克……韩国男生真的很开明。他们善于交朋友，而且非常乐于助人。”

技术只是挑战的一半。另一半挑战在于如何说服公务员——他们中的许多人数字素养有限，而且缺乏改变的动力——接受新系统。

“（有些人）就是不想改变任何事情，当我们推出电子系统时，他们也不想与我们合作，”艾迪耶夫说。

吉尔吉斯斯坦信息技术官员在G-Cloud中心监控室内管理系统。G-Cloud中心是吉尔吉斯斯坦首个与韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）合作建设的统一国家数据基础设施。图片由KOICA提供。

团队随即展开了密集的基层训练，从最基本的知识和技能开始。

“我们必须为他们提供非常基础的培训课程。我们从他们在数字环境下工作所需的设备讲起。我们教他们什么是键盘、什么是鼠标、什么是显示器，”他说。“（我们警告他们）你们必须改变，否则就会被淘汰。这成了他们最大的动力。”

经过数月的严格培训和当地工作人员的积极推广，在推进国家数字化转型这一共同目标的推动下，该系统取得了显著成效。如今，该系统已被广泛采用，对于从小就接触移动设备和电脑的年轻公务员来说，已成为一种自然而然的操作习惯。

超越项目

该项目最能说明问题的成果或许是韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）退出后发生的事情。当地工程师独立地将人工智能技术整合到驾驶执照的身份验证系统中——这一里程碑式的进展表明，韩国正在KOICA帮助建立的基础设施基础上，构建一个可持续发展的数字生态系统。

除了G-Cloud项目之外，韩国国际合作机构（KOICA）和吉尔吉斯斯坦政府还在合作开展另外两项电子政务项目，项目周期将持续到2027年：一项是议会系统的数字化，另一项是建设国家数字培训中心。吉尔吉斯斯坦政府也在自行升级G-Cloud系统。

“我们与G-Cloud的合作体验非常棒，”艾迪耶夫说。“如果可能的话，我们非常乐意再次与KOICA合作。”