Author: master

During a telephone conversation held on April 26 President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev discussed matters of further strengthening Uzbek-Azerbaijani relations of friendship, strategic partnership and alliance.

The discussion focused on issues of practical implementation of agreements reached as a result of the state visit of President of Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan in August last year.

The productive work carried out in the framework of the Year of economic cooperation has been noted with special satisfaction. From the beginning of the year the trade turnover increased by 20%. Projects in the sphere of machine building, textile, electronics, energy, agriculture, tourism and other sectors are in active phase. 

An intensive program of cultural and humanitarian exchanges is being jointly implemented. 

The importance of thorough preparations for the summits scheduled for this year, including holding the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, forums of regions and rectors, cultural events was noted.

The leaders also exchanged views on the regional agenda, reviewed the schedule of upcoming multilateral events, including within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States.

On April 23 National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov arrived with a visit to Uzbekistan.

The high guest was met by the Head of our state at the international airport of Samarkand, solemnly decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

According to the program of the stay, the two leaders are expected to hold a bilateral meeting and participate jointly in cultural events.

During the talks, issues of further strengthening Uzbek-Turkmen relations of friendship, good-neighborliness and strategic partnership will be considered.

On April 23 in Samarkand, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received a delegation of the Russian Federation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, currently on a working visit to our country.

At the beginning of the meeting, the distinguished guest conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the Head of our state.

In the course of the conversation, topical issues of further strengthening Uzbek-Russian relations of friendship, comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance in the context of practical implementation of the agreements at the highest level were discussed.

Active contacts and fruitful exchanges in all areas have been noted with satisfaction. The volumes of trade turnover and investments are growing. Cooperation between regions and leading industrial enterprises is strengthening. Collaboration in the fields of culture, art, science, education, health care, sports and tourism is expanding.

There was also an exchange of views on aspects of the regional and international agenda of mutual interest.

On April 23, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in the city of Samarkand.

Today, the Head of our state will hold a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

In the afternoon, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the national leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, will pay a visit to our country. Talks between the leaders and a number of events with their participation are planned.

On April 22, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the results of work in the electrical industry for the first quarter of this year and the main tasks for the coming period.

The industry is rightfully considered one of the drivers of Uzbekistan’s industrial growth. Over the past seven years, the volume of exports has increased 7 times, and the geography of supplies has expanded to 63 countries. Currently, about 500 enterprises operate in the sector, employing more than 27 thousand of our compatriots.

In order to further build up the potential of the industry, the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On additional measures to raise the electrical industry to a new stage of development” was adopted on January 22 this year. In accordance with the document, measures have been taken to stimulate production of high value-added products, attract investments and international brands, develop experimental and design works.

In the first quarter of this year, the production volume in the industry exceeded 7 trillion soums. Exports amounted to almost $310 million, increasing by 1.3 times.

During this period $55 million of investments were utilized, of which $48 million were foreign direct investments and loans.

A package of projects worth $900 million has been formed for the production of demanded products under foreign brands. Works on harmonization of technical processes and introduction of necessary technologies are underway.

During the presentation the key tasks for the second quarter and till the end of the year were outlined.

In particular, this year it is planned to increase production volume to 43 trillion soums, localize products worth about 5 trillion soums. 71 projects totaling $656 million will be implemented with the creation of 4.6 thousand jobs. Exports are expected to reach $1.7 billion, and the geography of supplies will expand to 70 countries.

The Head of our state emphasized the importance of choosing the right trajectory of development of the electrical industry in the context of global economic fluctuations and the need to promptly adapt to market requirements. The relevance of deepening localization, production of products with high added value, as well as training of qualified personnel capable of working effectively with modern technologies was noted.

The responsible managers have been instructed to establish close cooperation with each enterprise of the industry, promptly resolve emerging issues in industrial and logistic chains, as well as diversify the export geography and actively develop new markets. 

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov will pay a visit to the city of Samarkand on April 23-24.

The agenda of the scheduled talks includes further strengthening of Uzbek-Turkmen relations of strategic partnership and expanding multifaceted cooperation, primarily in political, interparliamentary, trade and economic, transport and communication, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

An exchange of views on the topical issues of regional and international agenda will also take place.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation on implementing projects in chemical industry and plans on diversifying the sector.

As a result of the ongoing reforms, market mechanisms have been introduced in the industry and wide access to investment has been opened. Three chemical clusters have been established in Navoi, Fergana and Kungrad, as well as two technology parks in Chirchik and Jizzakh to expand the production chain. The Kokand superphosphate plant has undergone complete modernization.

Over the past five years, 23 new enterprises have been put into operation, and more than 4, thousand jobs have been created. International brands have entered the industry, and production of low-tonnage products has been established. As a result, the volume of production in the chemical industry has increased 1.5 times.

During the presentation the Head of State was informed about the work accomplished and plans for the current year. It was noted that in the first quarter $181 million of investments were utilized, three projects worth $39 million were put into operation.

In the second quarter by attracting another $170 million of foreign investments it is planned to complete the construction and launch the enterprises for the production of “green” hydrogen and cyanide salts.

The digitalization of the industry and its increased integration with related sectors will continue. Additional modules will be introduced in the unified treasury system of chemical plants, and 15 key economic indicators of the enterprises will be displayed on the “Single Digital Platform”.

Special attention is paid to energy efficiency issues. The need to reduce production costs through energy saving and efficient use of production facilities was emphasized.

It was pointed out that there is a significant untapped potential. The demand for chemical products in the domestic market is growing rapidly, while the unstable situation in the world markets requires new approaches.

In this regard, measures for structural transformation of the industry, deepening localization and increasing added value were discussed. 

Responsible persons were tasked to develop a new program for the development of the chemical industry, considering modern requirements and economic forecasts, with a focus on diversification of the industry through the development of new areas for manufacturing products with high added value.

On April 21, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on measures to improve the quality of school education and pedagogical staff training system.

The “Uzbekistan – 2030” strategy identifies reforming the education system as one of the priority areas. The state program for this year also outlines a wide range of tasks to improve conditions in schools and raise an educated young generation.

The fulfillment of these goals depends to a large extent on the level of knowledge and professional training of teachers. Today there are 15 state and 61 non-state higher education institutions with a pedagogical profile in the country. However, the scientific potential of these institutions is only about 40 percent.

Social specialties account for the majority of training areas, while teacher training in exact and natural sciences remains at a low level. In addition, 40 percent of the students are part-time students.

In this regard, it is planned to transform the Tashkent State Pedagogical University and establish the National Pedagogical University of Uzbekistan, as well as to implement the “Teachers of the Future” project.

The “New Uzbekistan” University currently employs more than 40 foreign teachers and 30 highly qualified compatriots invited from abroad. Various projects of students have attracted 24.3 billion soums in grants. By utilizing their potential, the training of specialists in modern fields such as engineering, digital technology, artificial intelligence and medicine will be strengthened with the opening of new laboratories.

Moreover, in order to ensure the integration of science, education and practice, the university plans to create a modern university clinic using advanced German experience.

International methods are being introduced to assess the quality of education. This year, the knowledge of 9 thousand 15-year-old students from 233 schools will be tested within the framework of the international PISA program.

Currently, two thousand schools are working with high workload. This year 112 thousand new pupil places will be created at the expense of budget funds. Due to population growth, the demand for schools continues to grow. In this regard, it is planned to attract $200 million from the Islamic Development Bank and build 58 modern schools in the regions.

According to the results of the analysis, about 80 percent of schoolchildren actively use the Internet and social networks. Although measures are taken to protect children from harmful information, there are very few authors creating interesting and educational national content.

In this regard, instructions were given to create a safe information environment for children, increase the volume of national content and support talented authors.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was reported on the progress of accomplishing tasks in the sphere of energy and implementing new projects.

With an aim to meet the growing demand of the population in energy resources a large number of projects are implemented annually. As a result of these efforts in the past 5 years the volume of electricity production was increased by 30% and reached 81,5 billion kilowatt hour.

According to the calculations by 2035 the electricity use in our country will reach 121 billion kilowatt hour. In this regard measures on developing all areas of energy are taken today already. By 2030 the share of “green” energy of the total generation volumes is planned to bring to 54%.

Hydropower and nuclear energy are considered to be the most promising areas.

In particular, 2,983 micro-hydro power plants with a total capacity of 167 megawatts are planned to be built in 2025-2026. These facilities will generate 500 million kilowatt hours of clean energy annually and save 151 million cubic meters of natural gas. During the construction phase, 1,200 people will be employed and 520 permanent staff will be employed after commissioning.

The minister of energy provided information on the projects planned for the current year. This year it is planned to put into operation 1,185 micro-hydropower plants with a total capacity of 65 megawatts, most of which will be implemented at the expense of entrepreneurs.

There are also plans to use nuclear power as one of the base sources in the future. Currently, work is underway on a project to build a low-power nuclear power plant. All stages – from design to launch – will take place under strict control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the application of the world’s best practices and safety requirements.

The head of “Uzatom” Agency reported on the agreements reached, the progress of negotiations and project implementation.
Instructions were given on timely commissioning of the facilities and provision of additional energy to the population and sectors of the economy.