Uzbekistan – VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides mobile connectivity and services, announces today that it is to advise and provide digitalisation services to the Uzbekistan Government during the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In a meeting with Laziz Kudratov, the First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, VEON CEO, Kaan Terzioglu reiterated VEON’s commitment to assisting the digitalisation of Uzbekistan.  VEON Group, which operates in 9 countries and provides services to nearly 220 subscribers, has been serving Uzbekistan through its operating company Beeline since 2006. Beeline, Uzbekistan’s leading Digital Operator, will actively participate in the implementation of the Digital Uzbekistan-2030 programme and, over the next five years intends to increase the volume of investments in the country's economy by $250 million.

The success of Uzbekistan’s WTO application will be influenced by the digitalisation of the economy of Uzbekistan, which is striving to become one of the technological leaders in Central Asia.

“For the world community, what is important is not only the general state of the country’s economy, but how the level of technology development in Uzbekistan has increased,” said Kaan Terzioglu, CEO, VEON. “By investing in the infrastructure of VEON's mobile operator, Beeline Uzbekistan, we are striving to make digital services available to residents and businesses throughout the country, which will no doubt be an additional advantage for Uzbekistan’s WTO application.”