February 23, 2009

Politics:
President of Turkmenistan to Pay Official Visit to Uzbekistan
Economics:
Uzbekistan Airways receives new Il-114-100 plane
On support small businesses
Roundtable discusses development of rural areas
Termez Seminar Focuses on Businesses’ Role in Local Economy
Society:
Nurses to learn new rules
Fund Forum Awards Pedagogical Grants to Program Winners
Mobile clinic sets out to regions

POLICY

PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN

On February 24-25 this year on the invitation of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan, according to the Jahon Information Agency.

During the visit the sides are going to discuss the issues of extending and deepening the Uzbek-Turkmen cooperation, outstanding problems of regional and international nature of mutual interest.

On the outcomes of talks in Tashkent the sides are expected to sign the bilateral documents aimed at deepening the interaction of two states in various areas.

ECONOMY

UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS RECEIVES NEW IL-114-100 PLANE

Uzbekistan Airways, national air company, received a new locally produced plane Il-114-100 on February 23, UzA reported.

The third such plane will conduct regular flights on local routes and to the CIS states.

The plane has seats for 52 passengers and can fly to up to 1,250 km. The tests have shown very good results.

By the end of the current year, Uzbekistan Airways plans receiving five more such planes. They should replace old Yak-40 and An-24 planes, making flights more comfortable and secure.

ON SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES

State Committee on Demonopolization and Support of Competition and Entrepreneurship prepared and agreed with all interested ministries and departments a draft resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan on supporting small businesses, Uzreport Information Portal reported.

The draft resolutions envisages decrease of rates to services to businesses, abolish fee for opening account at the banks, decrease procedures for ecologic expertise, decrease expanses on transfer of habitations to uninhabited premises. It also set duty for registration of new business.

It is also envisages to cut rent prices for uninhabited premises for organization of business activity by 10 times or even more.

Adoption of the draft documents will allow to cut financial burden on businesses and create favourable conditions for organization of their activity.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSES DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan in cooperation with the UNDP and EU Area Based Development Programme organized a roundtable on cooperation on creation of rural development centers on February 20, according to the Uzreport Information Portal.

The Area Based Development (ABD) programme in Uzbekistan is an integral part of UNDP's strategy of promoting human security and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It contributes to the implementation of the Government's regional development and decentralization policy as expressed in the Welfare Improvement Strategy. The programme will be implemented in selected districts and communities of Karakalpakstan and Kashkadarya regions to improve the capacity of the authorities to support local development plans and the capacity of communities to take part in and contribute to their socio-economic development.

Welfare Improvement Strategy was approved by the government in August 2007. The priority of the strategy is improvement of life standards, social welfare and quality of education and healthcare, rural development, employment and improvement of access to microfinancing.

During the realization of programme in Kashkadarya region, the high demand for development of corresponding infrastructure was revealed. Within the project, Rural Development Centers were created in Nishan and Kitab districts. The centers render services to farmers, including accounting, consulting, etc.

At the roundtable, participants exchanged opinion on development of rural economy and improvement of life standards of rural population. Participants decided to coordinate actions of participants on development of rural economy, pilot projects and spread positive experience.

TERMEZ SEMINAR FOCUSES ON BUSINESSES’ ROLE IN LOCAL ECONOMY

The seminar on the topic of supporting and stimulating small businesses and private entrepreneurship took place in the city of Termez, the administrative capital town in Surkhandarya Province, the local news agencies reported.

Surkhandarya Province governor’s office and Regional department of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan organized the event. The heads of commercial banks and organizations busied in rendering services to businesses, as well as the representatives of private sector took part at it.

At the moment, over 25 thousand entities of small business and private entrepreneurship are operating in Surkhandarya Province. More than 180 thousand people are employed with them. In 2008 the commercial banks of the province allotted 48.2 billion Uzbek soums-worth credits to the private sector.

The share of small businesses and private entrepreneurs in the GDP of the province accounts for 67.2 percent. The economy of Surkhandarya earned over 225 billion soums-worth income from realization of products of business entities and rendering of the paid services. 67 private enterprises are reported to have installed modern technologies and established the production of finished goods.

The delegates to the seminar expressed views and proposals in terms of effectively using the credits and comprehensively supporting the entrepreneurs.

SOCIETY

NURSES TO LEARN NEW RULES

Nurse business reformation is in its full swing in Uzbekistan. In particular, new nurses-training curriculums, to be introduced since September, 2009, are at their final stage of testing.

They were worked out by the advanced nursery education centre under the First Republican Medical College within a special joint project on the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“New curriculums mainly focus on training future nurses the personal-oriented approach to each patient,” Gulnora Tadjibaeva, teacher of the First Republican Medical College commented new curriculums. “With this purpose, special courses on nursing pregnant, recently confined women, newborn, ill children, adults and seniors as well as people under medical home-nursing supervision were introduced there. The greater attention is paid to the psychological fundamentals of the communication between nurses and patients, their role in psychological preparation of a patient for the treatment.”

Educational programs absorbed the best national and foreign practices of the nursery business. Besides, within the joint project a group of the leading medical colleges’ teachers and medical institutions’ nurses underwent advanced training abroad, in particular, Japan. The knowledge they obtain abroad will be useful for introduction of new programs into the Uzbekistan’s training system of young nursery business specialists.

FUND FORUM AWARDS PEDAGOGICAL GRANTS TO PROGRAM WINNERS

The festive ceremony of awarding the laureates of the contest on the program of pedagogical grants took place in Tashkent. The Forum of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan Foundation organized the event, Narodnoye slovo newspaper reported.

Among 50 winners, who have presented to the contest the most urgent and innovative projects in the educational sphere, there were the teachers of schools, lyceums, colleges and higher educational institutions, as well as scholars and heads of educational establishments, according to the newspaper.

In 2009 such creative contest was very intensive. Over one thousand pedagogues from all around the country participated at it. They have submitted for consideration of jury the ideas and elaborations directed to bettering the schooling process at the educational establishments.

“The program of pedagogical grants is the earnest testimony of the fact that the education of forthcoming generation is a priority direction of the policy conducted in Uzbekistan. Along with state bodies the public organizations are also involved in addressing it,” said the teacher of School No.1 of Kyzyltena District of Navoi Province Nazokat Rusieva. “I am happy that I have become one of the winners. During the year I will receive a reward that I may use in introducing into the educational process the interactive methods of holding open lessons.”

These grants will also promote undertaking of researches, elaboration of methodic and training literature in the sphere of education.

As a part of this event the pedagogues and workers of the educational sphere shared their experiences, established professional contacts, held discussions on interactive methods of teaching and their role in the process of education.

MOBILE CLINIC SETS OUT TO REGIONS

International nongovernmental charity fund ,Soglom Avlod Uchun, received a mobile clinic assembled on the basis of Hyundai trailer donated by Korean Foundation for International Healthcare – Dr Lee Jong- wook Memorial Fund.

This is a real clinic on the wheels. Doctor’s rooms are located inside a large van like in the ordinary polyclinics. They are facilitated with the latest diagnostic and medical equipment. There is a surgery here enabling small and medium surgeries as well as patients’ premises.

As Soglom Avlod Uchun informed, this mobile clinic will be used for medical assistance to population, mainly women and children living in distant regions. The first trip is planned for the soonest time.