December 28, 2007
Politics:
World Leaders Congratulate President On His Victory
OIC Mission: ‘Elections Were Open, Fair & In Line With Laws’
Economics:
Japan considers new opportunities to develop cooperation with Uzbekistan
UzACI, Lithuanian communications authority sign cooperation agreement
Uzbekistan joins Agreement on postal payment services
Number of astrakhan sheep in Uzbekistan increases
Society:
UWED faculty staff members present new teaching methods
Health Ministry organizes meeting on national strategy development
Need Stressed to Train the Product Quality Mgmt. Specialists
POLITICS
WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE PRESIDENT ON HIS VICTORY
On the occasion of elections to have taken place in Uzbekistan on December 23 the world leaders are placing the telephone calls with President Islam Karimov and sending him the letters of congratulations, the agencies reported.
On December 24, 2007 in a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin congratulated him on having been elected for the post of the head of Uzbekistan and wished him and the people of Uzbekistan success, well being and prosperity.
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Kurmanbek Bakiev, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon, and President of the Ukraine Victor Uschenko are also reported to have placed telephone calls with the Uzbek Leader and congratulated him on his victory on the elections and addressed their best wishes.
“China and Uzbekistan are the good neighbors and there is a deep traditional friendship between our nations. For over the fifteen years since the two states have established the diplomatic relations thanks to the joint efforts on the part of both sides we have been able to form the relations of mutual respect, mutual trust, equal mutually beneficial friendly cooperation and partnership,” – the congratulatory message by the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao to President Islam Karimov has read in particular.
“China respects the consistent path of development chosen independently by the people of Uzbekistan and supports the ongoing efforts of the Uzbek side aimed at protecting the state independence, sovereignty and security, assisting to the economic development,” – the message is reported to have further read.
“Along with you I stand ready to further consolidate the mutual friendship and trust, intensify the business cooperation in various spheres to take the partnership relations, friendship and cooperation between China and Uzbekistan up to a new level,” the PRC Chairman Hu Jintao wrote.
Also, the letters of congratulation have been received from the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, President of the Turkish Republic Abdullah Gul, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Republic of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilkham Aliev, President of Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet, according to the agencies.
OIC MISSION: ‘ELECTIONS WERE OPEN, FAIR & IN LINE WITH LAWS’
The Deputy Secretary General of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Salem al-Ajili al-Hawani was among many observers, who have arrived to participate in the presidential elections of December 23 in Uzbekistan.
Here is what he has said while speaking to the Uzbekistan National News Agency.
“During the elections of President of Uzbekistan we have observed the work of the polling stations in Tashkent and Bukhara provinces, as well as the capital city. The OIC Mission states that the elections were held based on publicity, openness, fairness and in line with the legislation.
One of the main requirements of democracy is the participation of more than one candidate in the elections. At these presidential elections in Uzbekistan the four candidates have been nominated for the post of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. That, in its turn, witnesses about the firm observance of such a principle.
Yet another important condition is to provide for the rights and interests of citizens abroad. In this regard, we can speak of the polling stations that have been established at the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan in foreign countries. Thus, the citizens that stayed abroad in the day of voting were able to realize their right to vote and it is worth appreciation.
Practical reflection of ensuring the human rights is also another fact that almost five thousand Uzbek citizens, who have offered the holy pilgrimage of Hajj at the sacred places in Saudi Arabia, had voted early prior to their departures. No doubt that the laws of Uzbekistan, the state policy, which fully meets the national values and universal principles, will serve to the bright future of the country.
The presidential elections in Uzbekistan have demonstrated to the world community to what extent the level of political and legal culture of the Uzbek people is high.
ECONOMY
JAPAN CONSIDERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH UZBEKISTAN
The second business forum of the business circles of Uzbekistan and Japan has recently been organized by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of Uzbekistan, the Centre for Political Studies jointly with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
The Uzbek-Japanese Business Forum was devoted to further development of trade, economic and investment cooperation, Jahon reported.
On December 20 the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Akira Amari met with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Tokyo Mirsobit Ochilov. During the talk he highly appraised the results of Uzbek-Japanese Business Forum.
In particular, A. Amari expressed his satisfaction about the growth of the number of representatives of Japanese companies and financial institutions that took part in the forum, and expansion of the format of topics discussed during the forum.
The Japanese Minister also informed that in light of the activation of the economic cooperation between the two countries the ministry he is heading was developing an action plan on intensification of the economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Japan.
According to Amari, it is important to gradually expand the economic dialogue in order to conduct the third Uzbek-Japanese Business Forum, and form new strategically important directions of economic interaction.
The Japanese Minister said he thought the signing of the Agreement "On liberalization, support and protection of investments" between Japan and Uzbekistan would serve further expansion and strengthening of bilateral cooperation.
The Japanese Minister also paid attention to the need for efficient implementation of the joint projects within the frame of the interdepartmental papers signed between the Uzbek agencies and the Japanese National Oil, Gas and Metal Corporation.
In conclusion of the talk, Amari noted that from among his numerous foreign visits in the status of a Minister, the visit to Uzbekistan left the best impressions.
UZACI, LITHUANIAN COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT
The Uzbek Agency for Communication and Informatization (UzACI) and the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of communication regulation in Vilnius, Lithuania, on December 17.
The main goal of the agreement is development and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of communication regulation for the development of telecommunications and information technologies markets of both countries, a report by UzACI website said.
The agreement determines the basic directions of cooperation relating to communication regulation, namely exchange of experience in the field of communication for assistance in elimination of administrative, economic and other barriers, development the service market and communication equipments; holding the consultations on perfection of regulatory and legal framework in the field of communication regulation with the purpose of strengthening the competition in the market, as well as on methods and facilities of regulation in liberalization conditions; regular information exchange on the adopted regulatory and legal acts; organization of consultations, meetings, seminars and other events holding; elaboration and realization of joint programs and projects in the field of development of information and communication technologies and service market.
The agreement was signed by A.Khodjaev, Deputy Director General of UzACI, and T.Barakauskas, Director of Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania.
UZBEKISTAN JOINS AGREEMENT ON POSTAL PAYMENT SERVICES
The Law "On accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Agreement on postal payment services (Bucharest, 5 October 2004)" was adopted on December 18, 2007.
Formerly Uzbekistan was accessed to the Report on simplification of procedure on realization of money transfers by individuals of the participant-states of the Contract on deepening the integration in economic and humanitarian areas dated 29 March 1996, signed on November 24, 1998 in Moscow (Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 4 August 2006 "On accession to the international contracts").
The Report prescribes that the participant-states of the Contract while providing the services on postal money transfers will be guided by norms and rules of the Universal Postal Union within the framework of the concluded Agreement on postal payment services.
The Agreement on postal payment services of the Universal Postal Union conducts the postal services intended for the transfer of money resources.
Postal transfers are accepted in the national currency of the country of transfer supply and are paid in the national currency of the country of transfer assignment.
Up to now Uzbekiston Pochtasi realized the reception and payment of international money transfers of socially significant character (allowances, pensions, alimony payments) from legal persons in execution of "Agreements on order of money resources transfer to the citizens on socially significant noncommercial payments" (signed by the Heads of state governments on September 9, 1994) in the national currency, on the basis of concluded interstate agreements with national postal operators of Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Armenia.
With the purpose of acceleration of money resources transfer Uzbekistan Pochtasi joined the international financial system of the Universal Postal Union (IFS Light) that allows to provide qualitative services and somehow to compete in the market of service on international electronic money transfer.
Accession of Uzbekistan to the Agreement on postal payment services will allow to meet the demand of the population for services of postal money transfer with use of the postal network at 3,200 units of post communication, including 2,295 in rural areas, to execute on behalf of the government the interdepartmental agreements on exchange of postal transfers of money resources, to improve the financial state of Uzbekistan Pochtasi, to strengthen the competition in the market of money transfers that will lead to the decrease of tariffs.
NUMBER OF ASTRAKHAN SHEEP IN UZBEKISTAN INCREASES
As a result of reforms being consistently implemented in the agricultural sector in Uzbekistan, the number of astrakhan sheep bred in the country has increased.
The number of sheep at the Tamdy livestock breeding enterprise (Tamdy district) has increased from 26,000 to 61,700, UzA reported.
At the Saribel farm (Kanimeh district) it has grown by 40%. Similar progress is observed at Karnob Ota (Samarkand region), Nishon (Kashkadarya region) enterprises. The expansion of production of astrakhan sheep breeding farms helps raise the interest of herdsmen in the results of their labour.
The Chairman of Uzbek Korakuli Company, operating under the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management of Uzbekistan Kenjabay Madaminov said some 2.3 million sheep are currently bred by the enterprise.
The farmers are preparing well for the winter season: they have employed additional staff and equipment. Warm clothes, foodstuffs and medications have been delivered for the shepherds. Moreover, major repairs have been carried out in 4,242 pens and sheep-folds, additional stocks of fodder have been prepared.
Abay, Kyzylkum (Navoi region), Guzor, Muborak (Kashkadarya region), Korakul and Korovulbozor (Bukhara region) enterprises have stocked up on average 200-345 kilos of fodder. Such a good preparation for the winter season will allow getting through it without losses or reduction in the livestock yield during the cold winter time.
"Our farm has about 70,000 astrakhan sheep," the Chairman of Saribel collective farm (Navoi region) Urmanbay Kukinov said. "It is not easy to depasture sheep in the endless pastures in the winter cold. But our experienced shepherds cope with this task excellently. The fodder we've stocked up puts confidence in us about the successful pass of the winter."
SOCIETY
UWED FACULTY STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT NEW TEACHING METHODS
Presentation of projects on Curriculum Development and New Teaching Methods was conducted at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) for students and faculty staff members on December 27, 2007.
The projects were prepared by young faculty staff members of the UWED, who actively participated in the workshops on new teaching methods, including presentation skills, at the Westminster International University in Tashkent in May 2007.
Participants from various Departments of the UWED elaborated their projects individually or in the small groups. During development of projects, they used methodical tools and e-materials, as well as Internet resources.
Alina Akhmerova, second year Master student at the Department of International Economic Relations, noted: "This presentation is a good chance for us, young teachers, to show how we prepared for a teaching process and share our ideas and skills with the colleagues".
Guzal Dadabaeva, PhD student, said: "It is a good experience to attend the workshops on new teaching methods and after to apply new skills in practice".
UNDP project "Enhancing the Capacity of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy to Support the Foreign Policy of Uzbekistan" awarded the best projects with prizes.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the UWED to support the development and implementation of the foreign policy of Uzbekistan through the training of highly qualified specialists as well as serving as an efficient platform for the research and debate over the variety of issues of international politics, economics, regional development, security, etc.
HEALTH MINISTRY ORGANIZES MEETING ON NATIONAL STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Uzbekistan supported a roundtable meeting on developing the national strategy on reproductive, maternal and child health, organized by the Uzbek Health Ministry, on December 26.
Major national stakeholders and international organizations working in the area of reproductive, maternal and child health protection participated in the event.
The meeting was focused on discussing the vision of the Ministry of Health on the strategy, receiving feedback from national stakeholders and international agencies, and identifying the major activity directions within the strategy.
Organizers of the event hope that once developed, the strategy will help better coordinate activities of national stakeholders and donor agencies in reproductive, maternal and child health protection, and make a significant contribution in improved healthcare and socio-economic development of the country.
It is expected that UNFPA along with other international organizations will provide technical support in formulating this comprehensive strategic national document.
UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
NEED STRESSED TO TRAIN THE PRODUCT QUALITY MGMT. SPECIALISTS
The Republican scientific-practical seminar “Training of product quality management specialists – the requirement of time” was held at the Abu Raikhon Beruni Tashkent State Technical University. The Ministry of High and Secondary Special Education of Uzbekistan and “Uzstandard” Agency have organized the event, the Uzbekistan National News Agency reported.
The rector of the Tashkent State Technical University Sh.Shoobidov has underscored the ongoing works on development of economy in the country. Many enterprises in the country successfully open up the foreign markets and it means that the exports are growing. At the moment its volume is increasing thanks to exports now of not the raw materials, but the finished goods and expansion of its assortment.
The transition of national economy to a manufacturing of the export-bound goods requires the rise of a quality, safety, competitiveness of the produced goods. In this regard, the profound work is now accomplished in the country on certification, quality standardization and metrology.
The participants of the event spoke on training and retraining the specialists of product quality management, prospects of further development of the system of management, contemporary tools and methods of a quality control.