The key facts

  • Google Vice President Doron Avni linked the launch of Google Pay to Uzbekistan's abandonment of strict data localization in favor of a flexible approach
  • The launch was announced during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit and the C5+1 summit in Samarkand
  • On October 27, the full launch of Google Pay and Apple Pay in Uzbekistan was announced

Google's assessment of the reforms

Doron Avni, Google's Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy in Emerging Markets, praised Uzbekistan's reforms in the field of personal data processing in a LinkedIn post. According to him, earlier this year the country updated its approach to personal data protection: instead of strict localization, a flexible and balanced option was chosen. He called the launch of Google Pay in Uzbekistan the practical result of these changes. Kun.uz and Zamon.uz.

Context: the C5+1 summit and meetings with the country's leadership

In his post, Avni emphasizedthat the launch of Google Pay in Uzbekistan was announced during the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the ministerial C5+1 summit in Samarkand. According to him, this demonstrates the shared commitment of Uzbekistan and the United States to accelerating digital modernization.

What preceded the launch

The outlets recall that in September of this year, Head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva met in New York with Google Vice President Karan Bhatia and discussed expanding technological cooperation. said she. On October 27 of this year, it was announced that Google Pay and Apple Pay would be fully launched in Uzbekistan.