Suchergebnisse

This policy brief reviews the current level of digitalization and technological development in Central Asia and gives preliminary recommendations to support a deepened digital cooperation in the region. The under-representation of some Central Asian countries in international rankings on digitalization makes a cross-country comparison more complicated. It requires an improved quality of work by statistical agencies of the respective countries, providing transparent and open data and following common definitions for the digital economy. Likewise, the inclusion of an intra-regional component into the national digitalization strategies would help to better exploit the digital potential of Central Asia. In a practical way, such a component would imply the creation of cross-border science centers, technology parks, sharing best practices and experiences, and establishing cross-border digital regulatory sandboxes. Harmonization of digital standards by the Central Asian countries would contribute to the reduction of non-tariff barriers - being one of the major market distortions. Cooperation in digital customs would lower corruption risks at the borders, decrease trade costs and increase clearance speed.

In July 2020, the European External Action Service of the European Commission launched a public consultation on the way forward for the European Union's Arctic policy. The consultation was held to re-examine the role of the EU in Arctic affairs, to revise the priorities of the current Joint Communication on an integrated European Union policy for the Arctic and the actions thereunder, and to identify possible new policy areas to be developed. As part of its work within the NDI Think Tank Action, IIASA responded to this call addressing specific questions of this public consultation. This paper presents the submitted material and provides further reflections on the discussed matters from the Northern Dimension perspective.