April 11, 2008

Politics:
Resolution of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
We Strive To Extend Relations With Uzbekistan - Amb.Kiljunen
Economics:
Training on "Business improvement programme" held in Tashkent
New guide on promoting foreign investments in Uzbekistan launched
Micro-credit organizations discuss accounting and reporting issues
Society:
Lower House Dwells On E-Signature System Betterment
‘No for Groundless Attacks & Slander on Islam’ - Forum
Forum Touches On Main Areas of Ecological Education
Days of Uzbek National Cinema Held in Ferghana

POLICY

RESOLUTION OF PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

“On celebrating the 90th anniversary of the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek”

Taking into account the big role and enormous contribution one of the most prestigious and leading higher educational institutions of our country and entire Central Asian region – the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek to the cause of raising the intellectual and spiritual potential of youth, developing the native science and culture, modern educational system, training the highly qualified cadres, bringing up our young men and women in the spirit of patriotism and respect towards universal values, as well as with an aim to worthily celebrate the 90th anniversary of establishment of this educational institution:

1. The proposal by the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education and Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the National University of Uzbekistan in September 2008 shall be approved.

2. The make-up of the organizational committee to hold the events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the National University of Uzbekistan, in accordance with an appendix, shall be approved.

3. The organizational committee in a week’s time shall draft the plan of events on the occasion of celebrating this date and in this it shall pay a special attention to holding them in organic combination with the goals and objectives set in the State program “Year of youth”.

In August 2008 the international scientific conference “The role of the National University in developing the system of higher education and science in Uzbekistan” shall be held at the high level.

In September 2008 the festival of students of higher educational institutions under the slogan “Youth is a decisive force of our today and tomorrow” shall be held at the “Yoshlik” student township stadium.

4. The Cabinet of Ministers shall be tasked that during the preparation to festive events it shall organize on the territory of complex of the National University of Uzbekistan the works on large-scale construction and reconstruction, repairs and refurbishment, full improvement and betterment of study corps, student hostels and other facilities of social infrastructure.

5. The Uzbekistan National News Agency, National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan and other mass media outlets shall be recommended to broadly cover the events related to holding this jubilee.

6. Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan R.Kasymov shall be laid the responsibility to control execution of this resolution.

President
of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov
City of Tashkent, April 9, 2008


WE STRIVE TO EXTEND RELATIONS WITH UZBEKISTAN - AMB.KILJUNEN

For over the years of independence Uzbekistan has been steadily developing the cooperation with many countries of the world. Its foreign policy is aimed at peaceful and constructive relations with other states, Jahon Information Agency reported.

Finland is situated in the north of Europe and occupies the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The capital is Helsinki. The country covers 338 thousand square kilometers. The population is 5.238 million people of whom 93.4 percent are the Finns and 5.7 percent are the Swedes. The majority of population professes the Evangelical-Lutheran religion (84.2%), about 1.1 percent are the followers of Orthodoxy. Official languages are the Finnish and Swedish. In 2007 the volume of GDP made up 187.9 billion euros.

The diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Finland were established on February 26, 1992. The foundation of bilateral political relations was set up during the visit of President Islam Karimov to Finland in February 1992 in the framework of participation in the ceremony of signing the OSCE Helsinki Final Act and Paris Charter. In October 1992 President of Finland M.Koyvisto paid a reciprocal visit to Uzbekistan.

Last year the volume of trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Finland accounted for 26.6 million dollars.

Early this month the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Uzbekistan with the residence in Helsinki Ms. Marja-Liisa Kiljunen visited Uzbekistan. During her stay she held meetings at the Lower Chamber of Oliy Majlis, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as toured along the cities of Uzbekistan.

At the end of her stay Ms. Ambassador Kiljunen spoke to the Information Agency “Jahon” in Tashkent:

“During my stay in Uzbekistan I have had an opportunity to expand my knowledge related to historical and cultural places of sightseeing in your country. In particular, I have visited Khiva, one of the ancient cities of the world. During my last stays in Uzbekistan I saw Samarkand and Bukhara. Those cities cannot but raise one’s admiration. I want to contribute to the cause of attracting an ever more Finnish tourists to Uzbekistan so that they may also see and learn about the rich historical heritage of the Uzbek people”, - Ambassador Kiljunen said.

According to Ambassador Kiljunen, at the moment the cooperation between Finland and Uzbekistan is at the good level.

“At the moment, we strive to further develop the political, economic and humanitarian relations with Uzbekistan. I am convinced that in these spheres we can achieve the tangible results. It is obvious that Uzbekistan has created favorable investment climate which attracts the interested Finnish companies, as well”, – she has further said.

“During this stay I have participated at the ceremony of signing the inter-governmental Agreement between the governments of Uzbekistan and Finland on mutual assistance in customs affairs which will serve as a legal basis for bilateral economic relations. Finally, I want to express my confidence that our cooperation based on mutual understanding will further develop and strengthen”, - Ambassador Marja-Liisa Kilunen has said.

ECONOMY

TRAINING ON "BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME" HELD IN TASHKENT

A two-day seminar training on the "Business improvement programme" was held at Dedeman Silk Road Tashkent hotel on 2-3 April.

The seminar was organized by the Enterprise Management Development Centre at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Office of British Council Uzbekistan and in assistance of the UNDP project "Business Forum of Uzbekistan".

The Enterprise Management Development Centre (EMD Centre) was established in cooperation with ITC UNCTAD/WTO and UNDP's project "Business Forum of Uzbekistan". The aim of establishing EMD Centre was to create favorable environment for increasing the qualifications of national managers.

One of the main directions of the Centre is establishing partnership relations with leading foreign educational organizations and inviting them to conduct short seminar-trainings. One of those initiatives was the past seminar-training for the representatives of Uzbekistan's business circles.

The seminar was organized with the aim of increasing the skills of leadership and entrepreneurship of the Uzbekistan SME representatives, assisting potential Uzbek businessmen in creating and improving private business, improving and increasing the profitability of on-going projects.

The training covered such aspects of doing business as: aptitude and knowledge of doing business; diagnostic approach to the company management; marketing researches; developing a business plan; advertisement; effective sales; attracting and serving the clients; financial management and budget planning; making negotiations; personnel recruitment and motivation; business promotion; strategic management and many more.

The seminar was facilitated by a high-qualified trainer Stuart Mitchell, owner of Stuart Mitchell and Co Ltd. Company (Great Britain), which is involved in the sphere of education and developing software for more than 18 years. He has been also a founder of Business education consortium at the University of Surrey for the last 12 years.

Stuart is a high-qualified specialist and has a long standing experience in conducting short-term seminar-trainings on management for many leading companies and international organizations.

Participants of the seminar were representatives of business circles, interested organizations and the ones who are planning to start their own business.

NEW GUIDE ON PROMOTING FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN UZBEKISTAN LAUNCHED

Three new investment promotion publications – "Investment guide to Uzbekistan", "Catalogue of investment opportunities in Uzbekistan" and "Cost of doing business in Uzbekistan" – were launched during a meeting held in the International Business Center in Tashkent on April 11, Uzreport Business Information Portal reported.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade (MFERIT) of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan together with Uzinfoinvest, the newly-created investment promotion agency, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan has made a number of regulatory changes in 2007 to improve the business climate including streamlining the registration process and simplifying the tax system. It has also created the Information Support and Foreign Investments Promotion Agency – Uzinfoinvest. The agency will provide reliable and relevant information to potential investors regarding the business climate and opportunities.

The guide highlights further changes that can be made to further improve the investment climate. These suggestions are based on a survey of investors' opinions using a questionnaire of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The guide has won the endorsement of both UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the ICC as it provides useful and reliable information.

Bakhodir Sharipov, project manager, explained that the Investment Guide and the Catalogue are intended to provide first-time investors with detailed information about Uzbekistan including its investment climate, investment regulations and investment opportunities. Currently, many potential foreign investors might not have sufficient knowledge to allow them to make investment decisions. The Guide and the Catalogue can fill those lacunae.

MFERIT and UNDP have been promoting investment through their joint project "Capacity building and strengthening foreign trade and investment promotion institutions in Uzbekistan" which has the support of UNCTAD, ICC, Uzinfoinvest and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

MICRO-CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS DISCUSS ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING ISSUES

A training seminar on accounting and reporting in micro-credit organizations was held in Tashkent with the support of the National Association of Micro-finance Organisations and Credit Unions, NAMOiKS reported.

In the course of three days seminar participants discussed several issues of special importance for this sector, such as the record of micro-loans and micro-credits: issuance and repayment, charging the interest, classification and reserves, depreciation and compensation; record-keeping policy, financial reporting, the accounting cycle, the record of micro-leasing and fixed assets, intangible assets and property, received as a part of the loan return.

Micro-credit organizations represent a new stage in the development of the micro-financing system of the country. As there were no such organizations before, there was accordingly no practice that would cover the accounting of their operations.

This training is intended to explain the different features of the accounting system required by the Central Bank to the accountants who had not dealt with this system of accounting before. It is also intended to gather some recommendations from the practicing specialists of the field on introduction of changes to the legislation to simplify the system.

The Government pays close attention to the development of the non-banking sector, which is particularly illustrated by the development of the necessary legal-regulatory base, the procedures for the performance of financial operations and book-keeping in credit unions.

It should be noted that credit unions and micro-finance organisastions are the type of organizations that are commissioned to help develop small and medium-sized business and satisfy the borrowing needs of the active groups of population.

These trainings allow the experts in the field of micro-crediting share experience and opinions, find solutions to the problems typical for the whole sector. Particularly important in the contemporary conditions is the qualification of the staff employed by the micro-crediting institutions, as the price of a mistake is enormously high.

It is for this reason that the training aims to teach the accountants the correct way to organize the financial activity and help them avoid mistakes in calculations in the process of operation of micro-crediting organizations.

In the course of the discussion the participants of the meeting came to an agreement that there is a need to integrate international best practices into the system of micro-crediting organisations and introduce some additional changes to the regulatory base governing their activity.

SOCIETY

LOWER HOUSE DWELLS ON E-SIGNATURE SYSTEM BETTERMENT

The Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted the seminar on improvement of mechanisms of laws “On electronic digital signature”, “On electronic document circulation” and “On electronic commerce”, Jahon Information Agency quoting the Uzbekistan National News Agency.

The representatives of Uzbekistan Agency for Communication and Information, corresponding ministries, agencies and organizations, scientists, specialists, and the mass media participated at the event organized by the Committee for Information and Communication Technologies of the Lower Chamber of national parliament.

The delegates to the seminar emphasized the need to improve the mechanisms of aforementioned laws. They have also said the country needed to set up the system of receiving the financial and tax reports of legal entities by way of electronic means.

Also, the lawmakers and others who spoke at the seminar have said that it was important to popularize the digital signature, in particular, provide the educational institutions, budget and public organizations with preferential terms to use the electronic digital signature.

NO FOR GROUNDLESS ATTACKS & SLANDER ON ISLAM

The roundtable “Not to allow the absolutely groundless attacks and slander on the religion of Islam” was held at the Tashkent Islamic University, Jahon Information Agency quoting Uzbekistan National News Agency.

It was organized jointly with the Committee on international affairs and parliamentary ties of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The lawmakers of Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, professors and teaching faculty of the Tashkent Islamic University, as well as the students are reported to have participated at it.

Those who took a floor at the roundtable have said that while speaking at the NATO/EAPC Bucharest Summit the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov dwelled on the urgent problems the international community was facing today, in particular, the issues of international security, non-proliferation of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction, consolidation of interaction in combating the international terrorism and illegal drug trafficking, the prospects of stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, and the treatment of national and religious values. The speakers at the roundtable have also mentioned about the Uzbek Leader’s appeal vis-a-vis “not allowing the absolutely groundless attacks and slander on the religion of Islam”.

The participants of the roundtable have said that such attacks on the religion of Islam which run counter to the universally recognized international norms and religious views nourish the feelings of fear towards the religion of Islam, that is to say, the Islam-phobia, and this causes threat to stability of not only the Muslim world, but also the entire international community, as much as the accord between the peoples of the world.

Rise of attacks on the part of some destructive forces on the religion of Islam threatens the stability of international community. Therefore, all nations of the globe irrespective of their beliefs and nationality must always stand vigilant.

Since, providing for the religious tolerance and humanism, protection of human rights, and particularly, the freedom of conscience are now the important factor of stability of international community. Today it becomes obvious to what dangerous consequences the unfounded attacks against the religion of Islam may lead to.

The delegates to the roundtable have also said that the religion of Islam was indeed the religion of humanism and magnanimity, and its very such qualities created the basis for establishment and development of the rich and diverse Islamic culture which is an inviolable part of universal civilization.

Comprehensive and well-grounded thoughts and conclusions, as well as practical proposals put forward by President Islam Karimov at the NATO/EAPC Summit are important in consolidating security internationally as much as addressing the problems in terms of national and religious values.

The delegates to the roundtable at the Tashkent Islamic University also spoke on the topics “Attacks on the religion of Islam – the threat to stability of international community”, “Religious and legal assessment of attacks against Islamic religion”, “Islam-phobia contradicts the international legal norms”, “Islam – the religion of tolerance”, and “The youth and Islam-phobia”.

FORUM TOUCHES ON MAIN AREAS OF ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION

Within the framework of implementation the State Program Year of Youth the main directions of ecological education were discussed at the scientific and practical conference which was held at the social and economic college in the Tashkent District of the Tashkent Province, Jahon Information Agency reported.

The Ecosan International Organization for Ecology and Health alongside with the regional office of the secondary special professional education organized the conference. The workers in the area of education, scholars, environmentalists, teachers and students of the college participated at it.

Those who took a floor at the event have said that the reforms of the education system aimed at training the new formation cadres with comprehensive knowledge are being gradually implemented in Uzbekistan. The ongoing reforms in this sphere are an important part of implementation of national concept of sustainable development. To establish the ecological culture of people by way of extending the continuous ecological education meet the objectives of the said concept.

The conference is reported to have assessed the positive experience in the sphere of ecological education and training the youth to gain environmental protection skills now accumulated at the Tashkent District’s social and economic college. The college has integrated the ecological topics to many educational disciplines. The institution is also known to have created conditions to broadly use various specialized literature in educational process, including in their electronic version. It also holds annual contests, quizzes and exhibitions of works of students on ecology.

At the same time, the participants of the conference have noted that to implement the State program Year of Youth and carry out the work of an immediate relation to the Program of raising the quality of ecological education one needs to establish the closer contacts of educational institutions with scientific establishments, public ecological organizations, and broadly apply the latest technologies, and bring up the youth in the traditions of careful treatment of environment.

DAYS OF UZBEK NATIONAL CINEMA HELD IN FERGHANA

The Days of the Uzbek national cinema was held in Ferghana as a part of the Year of Youth with an assistance of the Uzbekkino National Agency and regional municipality, Lola Bekmuratova of the Information Agency “Jahon” quoting the Uzbekistan newspapers.

In Uzbekistan the profound work is now underway on development the sphere of culture, in particular, the Uzbek national cinematography. As a result, annually tens of documentaries and feature films are being made.

The group of renowned figures of the Uzbek cinema visited the cities of Ferghana, Marghilan, and Kokand, as well as Rishtan, Uchkuprik and Baghdad districts where they have met with the local fans of cinema and moviegoers.

“Today I have become convinced once again to what extent our people love cinema”, - the People’s artist of Uzbekistan and filmmaker Shukhrat Abbosov has said. “Such creative meetings are important for its further development. The audiences objectively assess our work”.

Within the framework of the event such documentaries and feature films as “Chashma” (‘Source’), “Khakikiy erkaklar ovi” (‘True men’s hunt’) and “Telba” (‘Mad’) were presented to the movie-lovers.