May 15, 2009
Politics:
Central Election Commission holds seminar on upcoming parliamentary election
Economics:
Uzbekistan to host ADB session
Business Forum to discuss franchising development in Uzbekistan
Carlsberg Uzbekistan launches new beer brand – Sarbast Special
New level TV in pocket
Society:
Westminster International University hosts academic conference
Minister of Hajj meets Head of Uzbek Religious Committee
Event Discusses Use of Digital Signature, E-Doc Circulation
New Museum to Promote More Knowledge about Native Land
POLICY
CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION HOLDS SEMINAR ON UPCOMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION
Central Election Commission held a seminar on preparation and organization of upcoming elections to Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, regional, district and city Councils of People's Deputies, Uzreport Information Portal reported.
The event was aimed at informing political parties on main principles and conditions for preparation and organization of upcoming elections to parliament and local Councils of People's Deputies.
The election commission presented concept on preparation and organization of elections to parliament and local Councils of People's Deputies and draft list of events, planned to hold from May to December 2009.
It was said that only political parties, registered in Uzbekistan, can submit their nominees to parliamentary elections.
ECONOMY
UZBEKISTAN TO HOST ADB SESSION
The 43rd Annual Meeting Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will take place in May, 2010, in Tashkent. This was decided in Bali at the 42nd ADB Annual Meeting, Uzbekistan Today newspaper wrote.
Uzbekistan is the 15th largest shareholder among regional ADB members and 22nd largest among all ADB shareholders. The ADB’s program and strategy on Uzbekistan till 2011 focuses on the rural development, assistance to private sector, regional cooperation in transport and customs transit, development of the energy sector and motorway and railway infrastructure, enhancement of the drinking-water supply systems and municipal services.
In 2008, ADB allocated about $100 mln to Uzbekistan toward projects in irrigation, water supply and water purification, transportation, effective power consumption and micro-financings.
Within 2009-2011, the bank plans to allot Uzbekistan up to $1 bln.
BUSINESS FORUM TO DISCUSS FRANCHISING DEVELOPMENT IN UZBEKISTAN
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan and UNDP Project "Business Forum of Uzbekistan" will hold a session of the Business Forum dedicated to discussion of franchising development in Uzbekistan.
The event is aimed at providing all interested companies and entrepreneurs with opportunity to learn the specifics of implementing franchising concept in Uzbekistan, exchanging opinions on issues of developing franchising mechanisms with existing and potential participants of franchising relations.
CARLSBERG UZBEKISTAN LAUNCHES NEW BEER BRAND – SARBAST SPECIAL
Carlsberg Uzbekistan, brewery in Tashkent city, launched new beer brand Sarbast Special, the press release of the company said. Sarbast Special is the first beer of Premium class, produced at the plant, Uzreport Information Portal reported.
Sarbast Special widens line of successful beer brand Sarbast Original and Sàrbast Extra, which was launched in July and December 2007 respectively.
Sarbast Special brewed from picked malt and two types of selection hop on original recipe.
NEW LEVEL TV IN POCKET
An operator of cellular communication, MTS-Uzbekistan, has launched Mobile TV commercial service among the first ones in the CIS.
The test operation of the Mobile TV service was launched in March this year. After technical tests, the company announced about successful start of the commercial operation.
The service enables MTS-Uzbekistan users to watch two TV channels of the country – Uzbekistan and TV Markaz – on mobile phones.
“The commercial start of the Mobile TV service will allow subscribers to enjoy all the advantages of the 3G technology. Programs of the two largest TV channels of the country can now be watched everywhere within the 3G network coverage zone, directly over mobile phone screen,” said Nuriddin Shadmanov, commercial director at MTS-Uzbekistan.
To enjoy the service, the subscriber must have a 3G-supported phone and Video Streaming service, enable GPRS/WAP/MMS service or 3G High-Speed Internet and be in the 3G network coverage area.
SOCIETY
WESTMINSTER INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSTS ACADEMIC CONFERENCE
The annual international academic conference was held at Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) on 14 May 2009. It is the fifth time that WIUT has been organising this kind of yearly conference.
This time, the researchers and experts from various academic, research institutions and other local and foreign organisations, talked on the topic of "Research for sustainable development". It should be stated that during the current globalisation period the value of intellectual resources and knowledge is getting higher than any other material resources. Knowledge is a main pillar of modern economy and prosperity of society.
The participants have discussed about the aspects of commercialisation of research, research for effective policy planning, monitoring and evaluation, developing research capacity and research dissemination – challenges in transition countries. Since Uzbekistan is considered to have high intellectual potential, this field is particularly important to be improved.
During the conference presentations, Simon Jarvis, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Quality and Research), University of Westminster in London, talked about the role and impact of university research in securing economic and social benefits for regional, national and international communities. Moreover, presenters from the Centre for Economic Research (CER) in Tashkent, an independent non-profit research institution, shared their research experiences with other visitors. Parpiev Odilhuja, Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, Academy of Science of Uzbekistan, mentioned that the demand by public and private institutions for intellectual creations is increasing every year in our country. This phenomenon does not only concern Uzbekistan but the whole world. Considering these issues WIUT also gives concentration on improving the research skills of its students and academic staff.
The mentioned topics attracted interests of all conference visitors and made them talk about the problems with recommendations on the issues in the context of Uzbekistan. Many suggestions were given on developing the business of intellectual creations and improving the research stimulation policies at the academic institutions. The presented materials and discussions will definitely be useful and practical for the research strategies of the think tanks and the students of WIUT.
MINISTER OF HAJJ MEETS HEAD OF UZBEK RELIGIOUS COMMITTEE
Minister of Hajj of Saudi Arabia Dr Fouad Abdulsalam Al-Farsi met in Jeddah on 12 May 2009 Head of the Religious Committee in Uzbekistan and Head of the country's Hajj mission Ortiq Yusupov.
They reviewed issues pertaining to the pilgrims of Uzbekistan.
Speaking on the occasion Dr Al-Faresi underlined the importance of adherence to the programs prepared by the Hajj Ministry and the awareness of the pilgrims prior to their arrival to the Holy Places.
EVENT DISCUSSES USE OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE, E-DOC CIRCULATION
The international scientific-practical conference “The urgent problems of development of electronic digital signature and electronic document circulation” took off at the Tashkent University of Information Technologies in Tashkent, the report by Uzbekistan National News Agency said.
The Information and Communication Technologies Committee of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis (the national parliament), Uzbekistan Agency for Communication and Information along with Russian Federal Agency of Information Technologies are reported to have organized the conference.
The staff members of state bodies, ministries and agencies, international organizations, domestic and foreign scientific centers and companies, commercial structures, producer firms and suppliers of information technologies are participating at the forum.
The major goal of the event is to enhance the broad introduction and application of electronic document circulation with the use of electronic digital signature, to reveal and consider the outstanding problems, as well as to learn about the latest achievements in the sphere and exchange experience.
The use of electronic document circulation in state governance increase the effectiveness and reliability of working with documents, as much as enhances the quality of management and efficiency of control over implementation of documents with significantly cutting down the expenses related to the sphere.
NEW MUSEUM TO PROMOTE MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NATIVE LAND
The Museum of Archeology of the Aral adjacent area has been established anew at the Karakalpak Department of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, according to the “Narodnoye slovo” newspaper.
The museum’s exposition consists of three blocks. The first block offers visitors to see the exhibits of the Stone Age and bronze epoch of the long past.
The tools of household and culture of the ancient Khorezm civilization are exhibited at the second block. They are the bronze tacks, toys made of burnt clay, bone hairpins and statuettes.
And, the third block offers the swords, arrowheads, knives, as well as women’s decorations related to the Kerder culture.
The specialists believe that the newly established museum will allow the residents of the area to learn more new and interesting things about the history of their native land, according to the newspaper.