July 15, 2009
Economics:
Uzbek-Slovak Business Forum discusses expansion of ties
New joint venture to produce GTL fuel
Seminar to Enhance Skills of Tax Professionals, Report Says
Transport pulse of the capital
Over Thousand People Attend Vacancy Fair Held in Tashkent
Society:
Boundless Perfection
Medicinal Leeches Bred in Andijan
Medical Doctors and NGOs Unite Efforts
ECONOMY
UZBEK-SLOVAK BUSINESS FORUM DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF TIES
A delegation of Uzbekistan led by Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade Elyor Ganiev visited Slovak Republic and attended the Uzbek-Slovak Business Forum.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Slovak Republic Pavol Kristof participated at the event.
Pavol Kristof said the meeting was held in the period when economies of separate states are in recession and under enormous pressure of global financial-economic crisis, UzDaily reported.
Kristof said he expects that the business forum will contribute to the beginning of active cooperation between Slovak Republic and Uzbekistan. He said the Ministry of Economy of Slovak Republic is for development of economic relations at all levels with the prospective Central Asian region, including Uzbekistan.
Slovak official said Slovak Republic can share its experience with the Uzbek partners on construction, supply of technology and equipment for energy sector, engineering and electronics industries. He said the sides can establish cooperation in automobile industry, agriculture and environment protection.
During the forum, the Ministry of Economy of Slovak Republic and Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade signed the memorandum of scientific-technical and economic cooperation.
Business entities of both countries held negotiations. Uzbekistan prepared over 330 projects for US$400 million to the Slovak counterparts. The projects are in such sectors as transport, infrastructure, energy, education, etc.
Trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Slovak Republic comprised 15.2 million euros in 2008. The export of Slovak Republic grew 20.4% year-on-year to 6.4 million euros in 2008. Imports comprised 8.8 million euros or grew by 71.3% year-on-year.
NEW JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE GTL FUEL
National holding company Uzbekneftegaz, Petronas of Malaysia and Sasol of South African Republic inked an agreement on creation of a joint venture to produce synthetic liquid fuel in Uzbekistan on July 14.
The document was signed by the vice-president of Petronas Datuk Nasaruddin, Sasol general manager Lean Straus and Uzbekistan vice prime-minister Ergash Shoismatov.
The new joint venture, which will be set up with participation of the capital of Petronas and operate on the basis of Sasol technologies, will be able to produce 1.3 million tons of diesel fuel, kerosene, naphtha and liquefied oil gas per year.
The signed document envisages joint conduction of geological survey works and development of gas fields. It is expected to boost oil and gas processing industry in Uzbekistan.
The members of Sasol delegation also held talks at the Ministry of economy of Uzbekistan and Uzkimyosanoat company.
SEMINAR TO ENHANCE SKILLS OF TAX PROFESSIONALS, REPORT SAYS
Tashkent hosted the seminar workshop organized by the joint project of the Finance Ministry of Uzbekistan and United Nations Development Program “State finances reform in Uzbekistan”, and other structures.
The seminar saw discussion of new approaches in tax administration, introducing into practice the provision on office control only based on studies and analysis of the report submitted by a taxpayer, accomplishing analysis of financial and tax report.
According to such report by the Narodnoye slovo Russian-language newspaper, the seminar workshop has pursued the goal of enhancing professionalism of staff members of tax-collecting bodies, the quality of tax check-ups and advice of tax payers.
Those, who have attended the seminar, learned in detail about the procedure of filing by tax bodies of lawsuits and peculiarities of economic and civil legal procedure. They have paid a substantial attention to studying the “Office control and risk-analysis” program product worked out on the order of the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Also, the attendees of the seminar are reported to have manifested a keen interest in the issues related to criteria in terms of defining risks of violation of tax legislation.
TRANSPORT PULSE OF THE CAPITAL
More than 12,000 people – drivers of buses, trams, trolley buses, route taxis and underground – are employed by the Toshshahartranskhizmat association that transport on the average 1.5 million passengers a day in Tashkent, National News Agency UzA reported.
The largest volume of the transportation – about 74% – falls on buses. According to Toshshahartranskhizmat, Tashkent bus fleet will receive 200 more buses Mercedes-Benz Conecto Low Floor this year. This will bring the number of modern, convenient and reliable Mercedes buses on the roads of Tashkent to almost 1,000.
The program of bus fleet upgrading in capital is aimed at purchasing modern machines working on diesel fuel. These are not only Mercedes-Benz, but also Isuzu buses produced by Samarkand automobile plant, which allow to cut down fuel expenses notably.
562 buses of SamAvto were leased through the Uzavtosanoatlizing company in the last two years. More than 1,100 drivers in the capital received new workplaces thanks to buses made in Samarkand.
Tashkent is included in the number of 20 largest cities of the world where the underground is the integral part of public transport systems. Tashkent underground has 3 lines with 29 stations and almost 15% of the capital’s passenger traffic.
More than 8% of passenger transportation is the share of trams. Along with construction of wide roads and new transport highways and overpasses, tram networks have also been updated and routes extended. Only this year, 16 kms of tram roads were repaired and 30 new tram cars were purchased in 2007-2008.
OVER THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTEND VACANCY FAIR HELD IN TASHKENT
Over 1200 people visited the vacancy fair, which took place in Chilanzar District of the city of Tashkent, the Pravda Vostoka Russian-language national newspaper reported July 14.
The Head department for labor, employment and social protection of population at the Municipality of Tashkent, the mayor’s office and Employment Assistance Center of Chilanzar District are reported to have organized the job fair.
The fair was held with an aim to creating jobs for the unemployed, including the graduates of professional colleges. The twenty-eight enterprises and organizations operating in the district have offered jobs.
According to the newspaper, there were in total 680 jobs, which had to be sought by the fresh graduates at the fifteen secondary specialized educational institutions. Most of them have been enthusiastic to work for the branch offices of banks, as well as the bus and tram depots in the town.
What was especially new for this season, as the newspaper also wrote, - the distribution of quota-based jobs for the persons in need of social protection.
Over 400 vacancies are going to be taken by the disabled, pre-retirement-age men and women, the young men, who served in the army, and those, who have served their prison terms.
SOCIETY
BOUNDLESS PERFECTION
Organizations and enterprises in the republic have paid more attention to advanced training of their specialists over the last years. The Management Institute offering 21 training programs for enrollees’ choice is reckoned among the popular institutes in the country dealing with midrank managers’ vocational training. Arofat Tashmukhamedova, head of the educational methodological department, tells Uzbekistan Today about 5 most courses on demand:
“The program on market economy and management basics is in biggest demand. It is mostly chosen by economists and deputy managers. Within this program we try to meet all students’ expectations related to the effective enterprise management under market economy conditions. The course content consists of a symbiosis of foreign and our national experience that makes our advice easily applicable in practice.”
A course covering legal basics of human resources management is no less popular among students. It is quite celebrated thanks to radical changes in the legal and regulatory basis required for the organization of relations between employer and employee. Labor legislation and work contract is the principal topic for this course’s students.
The program for accountants is comes third in term of popularity. The course focuses on the new scheme of national accounts in Uzbekistan, book-keeping and organization of accounting department’s activity.
Financial Statement Analysis is also among favorite programs we offer. Demand for this course has increased over the last years due to the increase in the number of developing enterprises. Within the program students acquire into best experience of strategic forecasting of enterprise activity aimed at providing sustainable development.
The fifth line on the popular courses’ list is shared between two new programs aimed for university and professional colleges’ teachers dealing with management personnel training. One of them is dedicated to aspects of introduction of information-communication technologies into the study process and directed to the broader use of multimedia facilities in auditoriums. Another course deals with communications, pedagogical technologies and corporate etiquette in educational institutions.
MEDICINAL LEECHES BRED IN ANDIJAN
Authors of first scientific studies in hirudotherapy are Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna. Today it is an independent branch of science and practical healthcare. In Uzbekistan this method is studied by specialists of the Republican Scientific Center for Hirudotherapy and is applied for treatment in various clinics and sanatoriums.
The Center works on the base of Andijan Medical Institute. Ten years ago its employees discovered the Republic’s first natural inhabitation of medical leeches in Izbaskan district. Here, by crossing medical and pharmaceutical leeches they developed a new type resistant to environmental changes.
Last month the center bought land in Kurgantepa district with a reservoir, which is also a natural inhabitation of medical leeches. Specialists are planning to launch a biological workshop that will provide all hirudotherapeutic clinics of the country with leeches in any amount.
“For a long time we have thought that there are no natural inhabitations of medical leeches in Uzbekistan, thus we had to import them,” suggests Abdurashid Rahmonov, director of the Republican Hirudotherapy Center. “Today we have our own sources of leeches, and it is remarkable, since hirudotherapy remains relevant at the age of high technologies. It has no side effects and provides treatment for digestion organs and nerve system as well as cardiovascular, gynecological, urological diseases. Hirudotherapy reduces the terms of medicamentous treatment and doses of medications.
MEDICAL DOCTORS AND NGOS UNITE EFFORTS
An international forum devoted to medical aspects and the role of public organizations in overcoming breast cancer problem has been held in Tashkent.
The initiative for the conference belongs to a public organization - the Community of women to fight breast cancer. This recently created domestic public organization is a sort of a center of focus of interest for high-risk groups and cancer patients on the one side, with doctors and psychologists on the other, as well as for sponsors who are willing to support the maintenance of early diagnostics, treatment and psycho-social rehabilitation of women. The proposal was supported by the public association Women’s Assembly, the Ministry of Public Healthcare of Uzbekistan, Fund for Support of Social Initiatives and the Republican Scientific Center of Cancer.
Discussion of topical issues was attended by experts from organizations dealing with cancer, including representatives of Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Turkey. They noted that for today breast cancer is a curable disease. However, the outcome of treatment greatly depends on what stage of the disease diagnosis was put and how soon the treatment started, as well as successful medical and social rehabilitation of patients.
“Oncologists of the country have all modern methods of treatment, and today it is imperative to improve the education of women, to inform each of them that periodic examination and consultation with an oncologist is a good way to avoid possible irreparable consequences of breast cancer,” said Sarimbek Navruzov, director of the National Oncology Research Center. “In this work doctors need the help of nongovernmental organizations.”
Foreign experts have spoken about the experience of voluntary organizations and medical institutions in the fight against breast cancer acquired in their countries. In particular, Professor Roman Barak, Chief physician of Horev Medical Center of Israel, stressed in his report on breast cancer screening that in many countries one can observe how the information campaign launched by NGOs increases the number of women regularly consulting with mammologists and reduces the number of non-treatment cases.
Participants of the conference agreed that the forum that has united a number of concerned public organizations, authorities, health professionals and pharmaceutical companies, will increase the capacity of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases, improve health and social and psychological rehabilitation of patients. And, of course, this will be promoted by the work of conference organizers - the public association Women’s Assembly and the Community of women to fight breast cancer - who have shown a great concern for the health of women.