▶ All the Central Asian countries are committed to meeting the UN’s SDG goals in terms of providing digital services for the majority of the population. However, these countries vary in terms of resource abundance based on their geographical locations and such overreliance on natural resources has left them vulnerable to economic peril.

▶ The digital transformation in Central Asia requires building both hard and soft infrastructure to get access to data and digital infrastructure via the Internet. Also, given the fact that these countries have no access to the sea, they need to build partnerships with the great powers in the region, Russia and China. 

▶ Although some scholars talk about the New Great Game playing out in Central Asia due to the rise of China’s role in this region, it’s more likely that China and Russia are playing a complementary role rather than competitive one via the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative.  

▶ Given that South Korea is considered a model country in terms of the fastest internet and digital penetration, it can play a crucial role in the digital transformation of Central Asia. Also, South Korea’s positive relations with both Russia and China can serve as a vanguard of connectivity in this region. 

Introduction

All the Central Asian countries are committed to creating a conducive environment and delivering essential services via digital platforms. The national programmes in all Central Asian countries have a prominent place for digital transformation and include strategy documents, for example, Digital Kyrgyzstan 2019-2023 (also called Taza Koom), Digital Uzbekistan 2030, Digital Kazakhstan 2018- 2022, Tajikistan (Presidential decree 2019), and Turkmenistan 2019-2025 Strategy. While Kazakhstan is clearly the leader in the provision of digital services, all the Central Asian countries are committed to meeting the UN’s SDG goals in terms of providing digital services for the majority of the population. However, the biggest impediment to achieving these goals is the physical infrastructure which requires significant capital expenditure. The countries of Central Asia range from being resource-rich to quite poor, especially in natural resources. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have oil, petroleum, uranium, and natural gas, Turkmenistan with global standing in gas reserves, but, Kazakhstan is most well-endowed overall. However, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan are quite poor, but due to their geographical location and being mountainous have notable resources to tap into hydro and wind power. An overreliance on natural resources has left Central Asian countries in economic peril due to price fluctuations and global market pressures. In addition, while there is global consensus towards moving towards green economies, reliable investment and funding streams are still severely lacking.

The digital transformation in Central Asia requires building infrastructure, both hard and soft, to be able to unlock the potential of the Internet to access data and digital infrastructure. The internet has dramatically transformed the nature of contemporary interactions. Today governments, businesses and citizens have all moved from analog to digital and there is an upward trend in engaging online in aspects of politics, economy, and society. The state governments in Central Asia are committed to expanding and working towards digital inclusiveness with state programmes and have signed up with international institutions ranging from the EU, UN, World Bank, ADB, and even CAREC and the BRI to promote the digital transformation of their countries. One of the main concerns of Central Asian countries is their geographical location which makes them landlocked and in some cases doubly landlocked. This has a significant implication for accessing global digital hardware that currently exists underwater. The fact that the Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, have no access to the sea, leaves them with no alternative other than to go through Russia and China. Thus, the digital transformation in Central Asia requires partnership and cooperation with both the great powers in the region.

Geopolitics: Cooperation or competition?

Russia

There is little doubt that Russia continues to have a fair amount of influence in Central Asia. The countries of Central Asia remain connected with Russia both institutionally and via physical infrastructure. There are historical and geographical explanations for the persistence of these networks. As early on as the 13th century with the creation of the Mongol Empire, the territory of Russia and Central Asia have been part of a unified political, economic and social system. This continued in the political systems that continued even during the period of Tsarist Russia and lastly in the Soviet Union, these connections were further solidified via the building of institutions and infrastructure. These connections are evident now in the digital space as well with Central Asian countries relying on Russian companies clearly being very important along with digital hardware including undersea cables (e.g., Caspian and Black Sea), etc necessary for the functioning of digital technologies. Until recently, “Central Asia used to be the default market for Russian companies, including facial recognition firms such as VisionLabs or Ntechlab, says Uakhat Bastimiyev, co-founder of Kazakhstani biometric verification provider Verigram.” (Borak 2023) Russia will continue to play an important role as it remains a significant economic partner for Central Asian countries and a lot of the physical hardware and infrastructure, transport links, etc are still linked predominantly with Russia.

China

In recent years China has expanded its presence with its Digital Silk Road strategy. President Xi Jinping introduced the idea of the Digital Silk Road in 2015 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. China is committed to the idea of promoting digital connectivity and has shown its commitment via investments in “telecommunications-network infrastructure, including 5G, submarine and overland fiber-optic cables, satellite ground tracking stations, data centers, whole-of-system integrated solutions such as ‘smart city’ and security-sector information systems, and select ‘over-the-top’ applications such as financial services and processes (fintech) and e-commerce investments.” (Gordon & Nouvens 2022) China has also “encouraged countries to embrace its tech offerings, such as the 5G network powered by telecommunications giant Huawei.” (McBride, Berman and Chatzky 2023) China is increasingly turning into a reliable partner for the development needs in Central Asia.

Russia-China in Central Asia

Conventional international relations theorists argue that the rise of China will naturally lead to tensions and conflict with traditional great powers like the US and Russia. Central Asia has long been considered Russia’s sphere of influence. Even after 1991 the persistence of Russia’s role in Central Asia, economically, socially, and politically remained unchallenged. However, the rise of China has led many scholars to question what lies in the future. This has become even more poignant since China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan which has led to several investment projects in the entire region funded largely by China and Chinese companies. This situation has provoked many scholars to talk about the New Great Game1 playing out in the region. However, what we see in the region concerning Russia is more cooperation and synergy between Russia and China. Increasingly, “Moscow has become one of the BRI’s most enthusiastic partners” (McBride, Berman and Chatzky 2023) China and Russia are playing a complementary role in Central Asia rather than a competitive one. This has become even more apparent after the Ukraine war and the sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU and the US. Far from being competitive, Russia and China via the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative offer two visions for Central Asia that are historically driven and serve different modern-day needs.

The Role of South Korea

South Korea has been an important partner and actor in Central Asia both historically and in modern times. Starting in the 1990s, South Korea has performed the role of investor and mentor for Central Asian countries. South Korea is among the top countries in the world in using digital technologies. In 2017, it had the fastest internet in the world and is considered a model country in terms of digital penetration. Accordingly, the South Korean model is supposed to have benefitted from competition and interconnection (Nelson 2021). As a country that enjoys robust and good economic and trade relations with China, Russia, and Central Asian countries, South Korea can play an essential role in the digital transformation of Central Asia in the following ways: 

• Digital penetration requires investment, infrastructure and content along with best practices and models for showcasing the power of digital services for the citizenry. South Korea can play the essential role and complementarity that can bridge the gap between the needs of physical infrastructure (Chinese funding), existing knowledge and technological landscape (Russian language, institutions) and best practice models (South Korea). Such practicable models can only be adopted by countries in the region when proposed and mentored by countries with a proven track record like South Korea.
• The Eurasian landscape has prospered well when communities have worked together. This allows the potential of the diversity and resources found within Eurasia to come to the fore and is best achieved through partnerships. Since Korea has positive relations across this space, which are underpinned by its institutional presence, it can be the contemporary vanguard of connectivity and uniting force for the good of the region by creating political will and reassurances.
• As China and Russia offer and seek different visions for Eurasia, South Korea can play the role of a benevolent power that both facilitates and encourages Central Asian countries to engage in digital transformation by partnering with all the actors present in the region by focusing on human capital development and creation of intra region mobility hubs, with its own industrial and institutional bodies as a starting point.