13 August, 2006

Politics:
Seventh plenary session of Senate to be held on 25 August
Uzbek MPs enhance professional skills
Economics:
Cabinet of Ministers approves tax cuts, macroeconomic forecasts for 2007
Uzbek-Pakistani trade may reach US$150m - envoy
ICT exhibition to gather 100 companies this year
Internet and information resources in science, education, culture and business
Society:
Azeri newspaper reports on Academy of Mamun
Uzbek conference discuss creation of television
Uzbek youth perform at International Festival in China
Uzbek Puppet-Show To Travel To Cairo

POLITICS

SEVENTH PLENARY SESSION OF SENATE TO BE HELD ON 25 AUGUST

Seventh plenary session of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan will be held on 25 August. The Kengash (Council) of Senate adopted a corresponding decision on its Thursday session.

The senators will consider a number of laws adopted by the Legislative Chamber and submitted to the Senate for approval. The most important ones among them are laws on microfinancing, on microfinancing organizations, on mortgage, on arbitration courts and on the order of preparation of draft laws.

The upper chamber will also consider the laws on firm names, on industrial security of dangerous industrial objects, on tax consulting and on appointing the medical workers day.

A number of laws envisage introduction of changes and addenda to earlier legal documents – the laws to be changed are ones on city public transport, on notary and on banks and banking activity, as well as Administrative Code and Civil Code.

The Senate will also consider other issues within its competency, the upper chamber's press service said.

UZBEK MPS ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

Through a joint project with the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan, UNDP organized seminar for Parliamentarians on 7-11 August 2006 to enhance their professional skills on law-drafting, ethics, parliamentary debates, as well as raise awareness on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This training event will gather more than 60 parliamentarians, half of the full-time parliamentarians of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis to broadly discuss the Parliamentary procedural rules, enhance professional capacities of the parliamentarians, foster the implementation of international standards in national legislation, and increase the quality of the law-drafting processes. During sessions, both parliamentarians and secretarial staff of the Parliament would also have an opportunity to put theory into practice through working together in groups and preparing presentations.

In regards to the training UNDP resident Representative Mr. Fikret Akcura noted: "UNDP is very happy to support the Parliament, the highest legislative organ of state in the Republic of Uzbekistan. We hope our assistance will further enhance its capacity to fully discharge its representative, legislative, and oversight and analytical functions."

This seminar training is organized within the framework of joint UNDP and Legislative Chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan project launched in October 2005. Its main objective is to strengthen the legislative and institutional capacities of the Parliament for better effectiveness and efficiency of legislative processes and procedures.

ECONOMICS

CABINET OF MINISTERS APPROVES TAX CUTS, MACROECONOMIC FORECASTS FOR 2007

Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan approved draft concept of tax policy for 2007 on Friday, 11 August. The policy envisages decrease of tax burden on economic entities and unification and simplification of the taxation system. The document also sets macroeconomic forecasts for 2007.

The concept envisages reduction of the income tax for legal entities from 12% to 10%. The single tax payment will be reduced from 13% to 10%, which is expected to boost growth of small and private business, and increase the share of private sector in the economy.

The decrease of income tax will allow economic entities to save at least for 37 billion soums, which they can direct to modernization and re-equipment of capacities or increase of production and salaries of employees.

At the same time, the government plans to decrease single social payment from 25% to 24%, which should increase income of population.

The document stipulated exclusion from tax base payments for telecom services and advertising expenses from the taxed income of legal entities, which is aimed at stimulating business activities of entrepreneurs and promotion of local products on the domestic and foreign markets.

The government also plans to cut duty for purchase or temporary import of trucks, buses and special transport means from 20% to 6%, which will allow local production, transport and tourism firms to update their fleets.

Cabinet of Ministers' pres service said the document envisages decrease of income tax for individuals. The lower scale of income tax for individuals is expected to be set at the level of 13%.

The medium scale of income tax for individuals will be reduced from 20% to 18%, which is applicable to incomes equal from 5 up to 10 minimal size of salary and the higher level will be decreased from 29% to 25%. The press service said this should increase incomes of people.

The document proposes to change structure of income part of the State Budget due to step-by-step decrease of the share of income tax and simultaneous increase of the share of resource taxes. The press service said this will allow rational use of natural resources. At the same time, the blueprint proposed to decrease tax for entrails in production of oil from 35% to 20%, gas condensate from 32% to 20% and natural gas from 58% to 30% and reduce excise tax for petroleum from 45% to 28% and diesel fuel from 40% to 25% and kerosene for aircrafts from 20% to 8%.

The document directed to unification and simplification of taxation, mechanism on calculation and order of payment of taxes and obligatory payments, the press service of the government said. In particular, the government plans to introduce single tax payment from turnover to trade companies. The new system will replace five types of taxes and obligatory payments and complex tax system and offers to set tax at the level of 5% to cities with population of over 100,000 people, 3% in other settlements and 1% in regions, which is difficult of access or located in mountain areas.

The measures laid down in tax policy for 2007 envisages that the real growth of GDP will make up 7.7%, industrial output - 10%, investments - 8% and reduce inflation to 5-7%, as well as increasing real incomes of the population by at least 17%.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft tax policy concept and made a decision to use it as a basis for preparation of the state budget for 2007.

UZBEK-PAKISTANI TRADE MAY REACH US$150M

Uzbek ambassador to Pakistan Oybek Usmanov expressed optimism that the trade turnover between Pakistan and Uzbekistan would reach US$150 million within couple of years.

"The present level of US$10.5 million does not fully reflect the warmth of ties between the two brotherly nations," he said while addressing a press conference at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) this afternoon.

President LCCI, Mian Shafqat Ali and members of visiting Uzbek delegation were also present on the occasion.

He said that there was big potential for cooperation in the fields of industry, agriculture and tourism. "We need to have more cultural and educational exchanges as a part of efforts to bring the people of both the countries closer," he said.

Referring to the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Tashkent in 2005 and the visit of Uzbek President Islam Karimov to Pakistan this year, he said that these visits had lent new depths to the relations between the two countries.

"The recent launch of direct flights between Lahore and Tashkent was the outcome of one of the nine agreements signed during the visit of President Karimov to Pakistan," Usmanov said.

ICT EXHIBITION TO GATHER 100 COMPANIES THIS YEAR

The seventh Uzbek international exhibition "Telecommunication and information technologies - InfoComExpo 2006", place for demonstration of latest achievement of telecommunication sphere of Uzbekistan, will be held in Tashkent on 19-21 September.

The largest international exhibition on telecommunication and information technologies in Uzbekistan will take place at Uzexpocentre. ITE Group Plc (Great Britain) and ITE Uzbekistan are organizers of the event.

ITE Uzbekistan told UzReport.com that some 100 companies from 18 countries of the world will participate in the event this year.

InfoComExpo 2006 will collect largest producers of systems and communication, information security, operators, producers of specialized equipment and software under one roof.

Yulia Rizvi, project manager of InfoComExpo, said the exhibition will gather system and communication means' producers, service providers, producers of specialized equipment and software.

ITE Uzbekistan said over 400 international companies, which assist to development of information-communication technologies in Uzbekistan, participated in the event since its foundation.

The company said the share of Uzbek companies in the exhibition comprises 40% and the share of Russian firms makes up 25%.

It is expected that special seminars and events will be held within InfoComExpo-2006, ITE said.

INTERNET AND INFORMATION RESOURCES IN SCIENCE, EDUCATION, CULTURE AND BUSINESS

4th international conference "Central Asia – 2006 – Internet and library-information resources in science, education, culture and business" will be held in Urgench on 18-22 October.

The event is aimed at activation of the activity of libraries, information-library resource centres, educational establishments and other organizations for effective and productive cooperation in deed of enhancement of Internet and electronic information resources application in the spheres of science, education, culture and business.

The conference will cover such topics, as "Information resource centres. Issues of creation and development", "Electronic libraries in the field of science, technology, education, culture and business", "Electronic archives and funds of backup copies of archive documents", "Intranet and corporative technologies of operational information exchange", "Development of consortiums of libraries. International eIFL project", "New information technologies for new generation. Children's and school libraries", "Internet in libraries and library resources in the Internet", "Problems of access to electronic library-information resources", etc.

The forum will pass in three languages simultaneously: Uzbek, English and Russian. Organisers of the event promise to ensure translation from English to Russian and Uzbek and vice versa.

It is expected that an exhibition of publishing products on the conference themes on paper and electronic carriers will be held within the conference framework.

SOCIETY

AZERI NEWSPAPER REPORTS ON ACADEMY OF MAMUN

Bakinskiy Rabochiy (Baku Worker), newspaper of Azerbaijan, made a report on Uzbekistan entitled "Alma mater Avicenna", which told readers about Khorezm Academy of Mamun.

Academy of Mamun marks its 1,000th anniversary this year. Jahon news agency reported quoting newspaper that resolution of UNESCO conference in 2003 and resolution of Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan in 2004 on celebration of Academy of Mamun anniversary gave impulse to study activity of academy, to organize research and spread of Uzbek cultural heritage among people.

The newspaper said Uzbek President Islam Karimov revived the academy with his decree in 1997. The paper said Uzbek leader pays great attention to revival of historic and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.

UZBEK CONFERENCE DISCUSS CREATION OF TELEVISION

Soglom Avlod Uchin international charity fund hosted a conference "Telephot of Boris Grabovskiy and his place in history of television's development" on 10 August. The event was dedicated to 105th anniversary of Boris Grabovskiy.

A large number of people in various countries have at home one, or even two television sets of different brands, names, sizes, countries of manufacturing, colour or black and white.

Many readers will be surprised to find out that Tashkent is the fatherland of the first electronic TV in the world. Here, in the first period of recovery of the country from war devastation, enthusiasts and real hermits of their pursuit, people whose names by right occupy a place in history, but are wrongly forgotten without any advantages, premiums and privileges, underfed and dressed in old shabby clothes worked for the glory of the Homeland.

Grabovskiy Boris (1901-1966), son of the famous Ukrainian poet, and Popov Viktor (1895-1965), from a family of workmen, Piskunov Nikolay (1886-1941), descending from a rich family and the future officer Ivan Belyanskiy (1907-1979) stood at the origins of the world famous device. Exactly this small collective, developing the ideas of the Portuguese A. de Payva, German P.Nipkov, Russian P.I. Behterev, physicians B.L.Rosing and K.F. Braun, could work out and construct a device under the name of "Telephot" which was capable of carrying out the transmission and reception of images on distance.

In 1930, for a number of reasons it became impossible to continue the work on improving the telephot (particularly because of the interference by the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs), and both friends had to separate. B.Grabovskiy went to Sochi (Crimea) and I.Belyanskiy - to Saratov (Russia). The first subsequently lived in the contemporary city of Bishkek until his death. The latter passed the war, gained officer's rank, became a cavalier of many military awards, and over many years after the front engaged in cultural communications with other states.

In the 1960s in various publications of our country articles appeared, devoted to the 40-year anniversary of the remarkable event. On the 16th of April 1971 the director of UNESCO's department of scientific information sent a letter to I.Belyanskiy with the acknowledgement of significance of the works of our compatriots in the development of television. In France the newspaper "Electronique actualite" recognized the primogeniture of our country in creation of television. Unfortunately, already in the 1970s this anniversary was forgotten and now no one remembers it for many years. It should be noted that Uzbekistan and Tashkent are the native land of the first electronic television transmitter.

UZBEK YOUTH PERFORM AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IN CHINA

Traditional international children's art festival has been held at o¬ne of the largest industrial and port cities of China Tianjin from July 28 to August 2 this year.

More than 2,000 children and teenagers from over 40 countries around the world gathered at this cultural event, Jahon news agency of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry reported. Children's folklore group Tomosha from Uzbekistan has been invited to festival, as well. The event, which became the large-scale and high profile of its kind in China, took place under the motto "Peace, friendship, future".

Within its framework the festival organizers staged concerts, art exhibitions, friendship meetings, tours along the Great Chinese Wall, and forum o¬n development of children's art.

Performances by Tomosha group, which have breathed in a unique and original atmosphere to the event, have been recognized as o¬ne of the brightest appearances of the festival and were finely welcomed by audiences.

Culture and art of Uzbek people, as Chinese hosts have later admitted, distinguished with richness, and the most main thing – they have embodied the kindness and hospitality of Uzbek people.

Closing concert of the festival was held o¬n August 2 at the "Future of China" Square. Boys from Malta opened the cheering show, which performed an energizing and joyful dance.

UZBEK PUPPET-SHOW TO TRAVEL TO CAIRO

Bukhara Puppet-Show will visit Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to participate at the International Puppet-Shows Festival o¬n September this year, the Business Partner weekly reported.

“We are going to demonstrate our play, namely “When Stars Are Lit”, which secured the second place at the Seventh traditional festival in Uzbekistan”, - Mr. Yuldash Kenjaev, the theater director said. According to him, the performance has been staged by the theater producer Munojat Ergasheva with theater’s artist Erkin Juraev working over the scenery.