June 24, 2008

Politics:
President visits Bukhara, Kashkadarya regions
OSCE ready to support Uzbekistan in reaching common goals – organization Chairman
Center for liberalization of judicial legislation being set up in Uzbekistan
Economics:
Tashkent Forum Dwells on Construction Materials Industry
Uzbekistan to privatize its coal-mining industry
Round table to discuss emission factor for national electricity system
Public servants trained on application of ICT in public administration
Society:
New preparations against serious diseases
Children’s towns ready for opening

POLICY

PRESIDENT VISITS BUKHARA, KASHKADARYA REGIONS

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov visited Bukhara and Kashkadarya regions on June 20-21 to familiarize himself with the socioeconomic reforms there.

The head of the state started his trip from the visit to the Husen Bolta Zamini farm in Vobkent district of Bukhara region, UzA reported.

At the meeting with farmers and other representatives of the region, Islam Karimov spoke about the improvement of the living level of the rural residents, protection of rights and interests of the farmers and their support.

Today there are more than 15,000 farms in Bukhara region. The local farmers plan to sell 350,000 tons of grain to the state this year.

Issues of providing wide support to the young people were also discussed at the meeting.

Almost 540 general education schools function in the region currently, and the number of academic lyceums and professional colleges is increasing.

After the meeting, Islam Karimov visited the memorial complex of Bahauddin Naqshbandi, the great scientists and thinker.

Familiarizing himself with the complex, the President said honoring the memory of the great ancestors and studying their heritage was showing care about the future.

During the last year’s trip to Bukhara, the head of the state voiced the need to create the new city center here. The project is currently being implemented.

The city center will occupy a territory of over 50 hectares and include the regional administration and other buildings, fountains and green zones.

The park square to be created here should become the favorite site of the local people, the President said.

In Kashkadarya region, President Islam Karimov also got acquainted with the farmers’ activities and the construction works.

The head of the state visited the rebuilt Geologist stadium in Karshi, the region’s administrative center. The stadium has been reorganized into a cultural and sports center and can accommodate 8,000 people. The center includes, among others, a closed swimming pool and a tennis court.

Islam Karimov met the members of the women’s football team Sevinch, children going in for volleyball and gymnastics and their trainers.

On the second day of the visit, the President visited the Shohruh Eshqulov farm and the Beshkent farm in Karshi district.

At the meeting with farmers, the head of the state drew the attention to the need to harvest the grain in the shortest terms possible and without losses, as well as the issues related to cotton growing.

The farmers of Kashkadarya region have harvested about 360,000 tons of grain to date, and the target is 750,000 tons.

The President stressed that receiving high harvests depended not only on the farmers, but also on the service and supply structures.

OSCE READY TO SUPPORT UZBEKISTAN IN REACHING COMMON GOALS – ORGANIZATION CHAIRMAN

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb sent a letter to President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, in which he expressed gratitude for warm exchange of opinions and hospitality during his visit to Uzbekistan on June 4, UzA reported.

“Strengthening OSCE’s cooperation with the Central Asian countries is one of the key priorities of the Finnish Chairmanship. Besides, the visit was a good opportunity to develop the potential of our bilateral relations,” Stubb wrote.

“OSCE strives to assist Uzbekistan in its efforts to continue reforms and expresses readiness to support the implementations of the OSCE obligations in order to further strengthen the security and stability in the region. OSCE welcomes further strengthening of the cooperation between Uzbekistan and the OSCE,” he said.

“Civil society, human rights, supremacy of the law and the freedom of the press are the main values of the OSCE. Uzbekistan’s progress in promoting and protecting human rights and the supremacy of the law has a positive feedback, including the abolishment of the death penalty and the introduction of the Habeas Corpus institute. In this respect, independent representatives of the civil society play an important role. Uzbekistan and the OSCE have a long history of interaction in the issues of the role of women in the social and political life, as well as in civil society issues. Our organization hopes this cooperation will continue and expand.”

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office also noted that his organization welcomed the provision of the access to prisons to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the ratification by Uzbekistan of the Convention on the worst forms of child labor.

“OSCE expresses readiness to support Uzbekistan in reaching our common goals. I hope my visit will serve to strengthening relations and dialogue between Uzbekistan and the OSCE, as well as relations between Uzbekistan and Finland,” Alexander Stubb concluded.

CENTER FOR LIBERALIZATION OF JUDICIAL LEGISLATION BEING SET UP IN UZBEKISTAN

President of Uzbekistan signed a resolution on 23 of June 2008 “On creation of the Research centre for democratization and liberalization of the judicial legislation and guaranteeing the independence of the judicial system”.

In the recent years, Uzbekistan’s judicial-legal system has gone through a process of deep reformation and liberalization. This year alone, a number of measures to further democratize judicial and legal sphere has been implemented.

Since the beginning of 2008, laws on abolishment of the death penalty and the introduction of the Habeas Corpus institute came into force, as well as changes have been introduced in a number of laws aimed at liberalizing the criminal punishment system, democratization of the courts and other law enforcement agencies.

The systematic work to reform the judicial system is inextricably linked with the processes of democratic renewal of society, since large-scale democratic reforms currently carried out in the economic, political, humanitarian and other spheres of the country cannot be implemented without liberalization and democratization of the judicial system.

The President’s Resolution “On creation of the Research centre for democratization and liberalization of the judicial legislation and guaranteeing the independence of the judicial system” is a continuation of the deep democratic reforms in the judiciary and legal system in Uzbekistan, aimed at improving the judicial practices, strengthening the authority of the courts and their independence, raising the efficiency of judicial activities to ensure the rule of law and the protection of the rights and interests of the people.

The resolution states that the new institution, created under the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, is firstly a research center, whose task is not simply holding seminars and conferences. It is a functional structure in the Supreme Court system, which has the necessary authority to deal with its main tasks: analysis of the state and preparation of proposals for liberalization and democratization, as well as ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

The Research center is directly subordinated to the chairman of the Supreme Court and works in close collaboration with the divisions of the Supreme Court, Supreme Economic Court, Justice Ministry and other government agencies.

The newly created center will also work to develop cooperation with international and foreign organizations, analysis and formulation of for implementation of universally recognized principles and norms of international law in judicial activity. Implementation of this task will allow using the experience of developed countries and international legal institutions in reforming the judicial system and improving the related legislation.

ECONOMY

TASHKENT FORUM DWELLS ON CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INDUSTRY

Business forum on perspectives of construction materials production took off in Tashkent, Jahon Information Awency quoting the Narodnoye slovo newspaper.

The Chamber of Trade and Commerce of Uzbekistan jointly with UNDP “Business forum of Uzbekistan” project organized the event. Staff members of the ministries and agencies, as well as the companies, engaged in construction materials participated at the forum.

The delegates to the forum spoke on state and prospects of industry of construction materials in Uzbekistan, last innovations in production and priority directions of modernization, attraction of investments to the sphere and privileges created for the foreign investors.

Uzbekistan rapidly accomplishes the work on modernizing, technical and technological re-equipping the companies of the branch. The companies obtain modern equipments and techniques which allow to produce quality, competitive and export-bound goods. Favorable investment climate created in Uzbekistan promotes to further expansion of trade and economic cooperation with foreign countries, attraction of modern technologies and means of communication, integration into world economy.

At the moment over 100 types of construction materials are produced in the country. The products of Joint-Stock Companies Uzstroymateriali cover more than 70 percent of the Uzbek market. Such companies as Kizilkumcement, Bekabadcement, Kuvasoycement, Axangaranshifer, Kvarts and others are also successfully operating in Uzbekistan.

UZBEKISTAN TO PRIVATIZE ITS COAL-MINING INDUSTRY

Unplaced state assets of Uzbekugol (Uzbek coal) OJSC will be sold to foreign investors this year, Uzreport Business Information Portal reported on June 21 quoting Chief of the Analysis and Marketing Department of the company Gayrat Ibrahimov.

At present, the company's 51% share holding belongs to the state, 5% - preferred stock, 44% - for free sale, of which 35.55% are envisaged for foreign investors through tender. The authorized fund of Uzbekcoal is 29.42 billion sums (approx. US$22 million).

Uzbekugol OJSC is the largest coal production and development enterprise in Central Asia. The company produces and sales coal and kaolin. Coal is produced from three fields – Angren (Tashkent region), Shargun and Baysun (Surkhandarya region). Annually, the OJSC produces on average 3 million tonnes of coal (2.8 million tonnes in 2007). Most part of the coal is used for electrical power system in the republic (80%).

Angren is the basis of the coal sphere in Uzbekistan. The Angren enterprise is the largest production company and main coal industry in the country. About 87% of total solid fuel production is produced in this territory.

According to the State Geology and Mineral Resources Committee, there are coal reserves with 1.9 billion tonnes including brown coal – 1.853 billion tonnes. The probable reserves are over 5.7 billion tonnes. Main explored coal reserves are focused in the southern regions – Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya.

Ibrahimov said that the government had developed and approved a programme to upgrade technical and technological system in the coal production sphere for 2007 and 2012, which will able to provide coal production increase by developing open development of the Angren field.

The programme is envisaged to satisfy the population ever growing demands, budget organizations, the economy in solid fuel, as well as increase the share of coal in the energy vector to develop electric power.

ROUND TABLE TO DISCUSS EMISSION FACTOR FOR NATIONAL ELECTRICITY SYSTEM

The UNDP Project "Capacity Building for Clean Development Mechanism in Uzbekistan" will conduct a round table to discuss Emission Factor for the National Electricity System on June 25 at Poytakht hotel.

The emission factor for the national electricity system was estimated by the national project consultants with a view to applying in calculations of emission reduction in CDM projects in Uzbekistan, related to electricity generation and energy saving at the consumers, according to Uzreport Business Inforamtion Portal.

Presentation on development of electricity system in Uzbekistan during 2004-2006, as well as the emission factor estimation itself will be presented to the audience for further discussion and comments.

The targeted audience will be comprised of national experts of the key ministries and agencies relevant to electricity generation, including JSC UzbekEnergo, SA UzSuvEnergo, JC TeploElectroProject, Energy Center of Uzbekistan, Technology Transfer Agency, who have been already involved in the preparation of CDM documentation.

The regular listeners of the course "Introduction to Clean Development Mechanism" will be awarded with certificates of completion.


PUBLIC SERVANTS TRAINED ON APPLICATION OF ICT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

A training course "Application of ICT in the public administration" was held on 13-14 June 2008 in Nukus, Karakalpakstan and on June 16-17 in Urgench, Khorezm region.

The training course was organized by the Communication and Information Agency of Uzbekistan and UNDP ICTP project "Assisting the government of Uzbekistan in the formulation and implementation of ICT for development policy".

The purpose of this course is to raise awareness of public servants in various areas and world trends of information and communication technologies in public administration and society, an to obtain practical skills in the context of real projects aimed at the formation e-government in Uzbekistan, and also the exchange of experience among course participants.

The training course was attended by about 100 participants, both from Urgench, and Nukus. The leading experts of the field who have practical experience of implementing the components of e-government in Uzbekistan were involved in the educational process. At the end of the training there was a planned test aimed at strengthening the skills acquired during the course.

It should be noted that this training course is a continuation of a number of trainings conducted by the Communication and Information Agency of Uzbekistan jointly with the UNDP, aimed at raising awareness of public servants in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT). Earlier this type of training courses was held for representatives of khokimiyats of Syrdarya, Samarkand regions and Tashkent city.

The training course helped the participants to reveal the possibilities and prospects of e-government development with the advantages associated with the introduction of ICT in Uzbekistan. In particular, the focus was on the general terms of ICT (information resources, e-government, legislation in the field of ICT, information security, etc.) as well as the basic directions in the development of electronic government.

It should be noted that during the lectures the legislative framework in the field of ICT was covered, in particular, the basic provisions of the laws "On electronic signature", "On electronic document circulation". Such topics as: "Information security and its foundations", "The governmental documents on the development, formation and implementation of interactive government services, government information resources and structures", "The role of information technologies in managing the organization. Automated structure of management of the organization", "Fundamentals of network technologies "and other topics were also covered.

SOCIETY

NEW PREPARATIONS AGAINST SERIOUS DISEASES

Specialists of the Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (SRI EMID) have come to a conclusion that Gasolidone and Timoptine preparations, which were developed by the Scientific Research Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Science of Uzbekistan and which are applied in treatment of polyresistant brucellosis, are also effective against typhoid fever and salmonellosis, Uzbekistan Today reported.

Today scientists continue to develop new methods of treatment of diseases caused by polyresistan bacteria of typhoid fever and salmonellosis using these domestic preparations.

“The disease rate of these infections decreased 10-12 times in the country for the last decade. It is a result of sanitary and epidemiologic improvement of population aggregates, improvement of medical services and growth of medical culture,” comments Akbar Valiev, manager of SRI EMID laboratory. “Currently doctors aspire to totally eliminate these diseases. That is why we need effective methods of treatment.”

Typhoid fever and salmonellosis is not a problem of Uzbekistan only, but also countries with similar natural and climate conditions. Therefore, domestic developments might be useful abroad as well.

CHILDREN’S TOWNS READY FOR OPENING

Andijan and Syrdarya regions are about to complete organizing of children’s towns. Last week the Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers approved regulations for basic aspects of these institutions’ activity.

Trainees of “Mehribonlik” children’s homes will live in these towns. The Ministry of Public Education says that children’s towns are to replace children’s homes soon, according to Uzbekistan Today newspaper.

“Establishing a network of children’s towns, we take care for upbringing and education of orphans in conditions maximally closer to family ones,” states Director Matluba Akhunova of a sector at Ministry of Public Education. “The “Mehribonlik” children’s homes have up-to-date equipment, many children’s toys and highly skilled and professional trainers, psychologists and speech pathologists. They have favorable conditions for children to develop their talents, obtain profession and regulate their lives. Children are divided into groups and supervised by teaching staff. However, psychologists state that the best way of bringing children up is in families.”

Children’s towns differ from children’s homes in that here children live in families formed from several orphans and parents whose professional tasks are to carry out parent duties.

The process of developing legal framework for children’s towns relied on the world experience, especially SOS Children’s Villages, international project. By the way, children’s villages have functioned in Tashkent and Samarkand for several years already.