President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree appointing Karsten Heinz, a German national as Deputy innovations minister. the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Berlin said in a statement.
A number of talks were conducted with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in order to make use of the Germany's extensive experience in building of modern innovation infrastructure in Uzbekistan, which resulted in the German side agreeing to send an expert to work in the Uzbek Ministry of Innovation.
Karsten Heinz, the lead expert at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, visited Tashkent and held meetings in the relevant ministries of Uzbekistan.
This is the first time ever that a German civil servant has been appointment to a high position in the government of another country. This move is aimed at supporting the reforms and innovation in Uzbekistan, the embassy added.
Germany is one of the global leaders in sustainable innovation and research, with innovation mainly concentrated in small and medium-sized enterprises and spending on R&D in GDP one of the highest in the world.
