12 April, 2006

Politics
Vyacheslav Golyshev appointed as State Advisor of Uzbek President
Uzbek head appoints new economy minister
Uzbekistan, Russia advance in development of allied relations

Business
Two Uzbek companies join Motor Insurance Association
French company to supply ladders to Uzbek airline
Uzdunrobita has over 670,000 users
UNWTO produces policy paper for Uzbekistan
UNWTO issues publication on Silk Road

Society
National MDG report presented in Uzbek capital
Internet users in Uzbekistan top 1 mln: official agency
World Cyber Games 2006 Uzbekistan Preliminary starts in May
Famous Israeli poet visits Uzbekistan


POLITICS

VYACHESLAV GOLYSHEV APPOINTED AS STATE ADVISOR OF UZBEK PRESIDENT

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov has appointed Vyacheslav Golyshev as the State Advisor for Socioeconomic Policy Issues of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

At the same time, Golyshev has been relieved of his posts – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy, Head of Complex for Economy and Foreign Economic Issues. Uzbek leader signed corresponding decrees on 11 April.

UZBEK HEAD APPOINTS NEW ECONOMY MINISTER

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a decree on appointment of Botir Khodjaev as Economy Minister of Uzbekistan.

UZBEKISTAN, RUSSIA ADVANCE IN DEVELOPMENT OF ALLIED RELATIONS

Official visit of the Speaker of Federation Council Sergey Mironov has become one more important practical step in development of allied relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, Latif Gulyamov, Chairman of the Central Council of the National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, said.

"The official visit of the delegation of upper houses of Russian Federal Assembly led by the Speaker of Federation Council Sergey Mironov is an advance in development of allied relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, as well as in the process of Uzbekistan's integration into the Eurasian Economic Community," Gulyamov said.

It is noteworthy that this visit resulted in signing of an Agreement on cooperation between the Senate of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan and the Federation Council of Russia. This is the first legal document putting the interparliamentary relations between the two countries at a new level. It is expected that this step will raise the effectiveness of the work on improvement of national legislation on the assumption of integration processes on the Eurasian area, in which both Uzbekistan and Russia are interested.

Like the previous official visit of representative parliamentary delegation of Russia, this visit had working character. During the visit the sides discussed wide range of issues having practical importance within the allied relations with Russia and integration into EurAsEC. Attention was also paid to the issues of mutual unification of legislation, creation of optimal legal base for development of cooperation in economic and humanitarian spheres.

The statement of Mironov that Russia is going to ratify soon the Agreement on Allied Relations also testifies the aspiration of Russian Federation to deepen the two countries' historically good-neighbor relations. Speeches of the Russian Federal Council's Speaker allow to conclude that processes of integration into EurAsEC are moving more actively to practical plane.

Uzbekistan is taking certain steps in this direction. Resolution on opening of branch of the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov in Tashkent, recently signed by the President of Uzbekistan, is a rather convincing example.

The principal positions stated by Sergey Mironov in his speeches during the visit are important as well. His statements show that Uzbekistan has an ally in the person of Russia, supporting firmly the position of our country on key issues of regional security and stability in Central Asia. Especially appreciable are evaluations of Andijan events in May 2005, in which the Russian side sees a terrorist planned action, Gulyamov noted.

National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan establishes the tendencies of constructive development of Uzbek-Russian relations. "We believe that such development meets both the national strategic interests of Uzbekistan, and the global interests of strengthening peace, stability and regional security in Eurasia," Gulyamov emphasised.

ECONOMICS

TWO UZBEK COMPANIES JOIN MOTOR INSURANCE ASSOCIATION

Motor Insurance Association of Uzbekistan held a meeting to discuss introduction of changes to charter documents and programme of measures of the association for 2006.

The association discussed issues on measures on cooperation with legislative power to create favorable and effective mechanisms on improvement of Uzbek insurance market.

The meeting also considered change to structure of members of the association. Members adopted decision to add two companies to the association - ARK Sug'urta and Standard Insurance Group.

Zafar Tursunov, director-general of ARK Sug'urta, said the accession of the company to the association will allow to use potential of company to effective interaction with other insurance organisation. He said ARK Sug'urta will do its best to achieve targets of Motor Insurance Association.

FRENCH COMPANY TO SUPPLY LADDERS TO UZBEK AIRLINE

Uzbekistan Havo Yollari (Uzbekistan Airways) signed agreement with French company on purchase of ladders.

The Uzbek company signed agreement with Europe Ltd on supply of four ladders to Tashkent International Airport and six ladders to other airports of Uzbekistan Havo Yollari. Ladders of Albred ABS-580 mark meet all European standards and on order of the Uzbek company, they were finished off to serve both aircrafts of western and eastern production. On the request of Uzbekistan Havo Yollari, safety of ladders was improved and more powerful engines were installed on six of ladders.

Uzbekistan Havo Yollari said two of ladders are ready to delivery to Tashkent International Airport.

UZDUNROBITA HAS OVER 670,000 USERS

Russia's Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, said the number of subscribers in Uzbekistan made up 670,000 as of 1 April 2006.

The company said its subscribers in Uzbekistan increased by 70,000 subscribers or 7.5% in March compared to the end of February 2006.

Mobile TeleSystem owns 74% stake in UzDunrobita in Uzbekistan and has option to purchase remaining share in the company. MTS is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS.

Russian company said its consolidated subscriber base reached 61.05 million users as of 31 March 2006.

According to official data, Uzbekistan had over 1.3 million mobile users to the end of March.

UNWTO PRODUCES POLICY PAPER FOR UZBEKISTAN

A policy paper looking at 'developing and increasing the competitiveness of tourism in Uzbekistan' has been produced by a UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) mission, which conducted a preliminary assessment of the country's tourism industry in October.

The paper is to be used as the basis for a project proposal to formulate a long-term strategy for sustainable tourism development in Uzbekistan, UNWTO News said.

UNWTO ISSUES PUBLICATION ON SILK ROAD

A detailed inventory demonstrating the wide variety and quality of Silk Road tourism resources has been used as the basis for a new publication, "Tourism Pearls of the Silk Road", by UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
UNWTO news said the publication covers tourism sights of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

First presented and distributed at the Silk Road Tourism Forum, held in the Chinese city of Xi'an in November 2005, the manual is one of the components of the Silk Road Regional Programme, under which UNWTO, UNDP and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have committed to helping the Governments of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in developing tourism products along the ancient trans-Asia trade route.

SOCIETY

NATIONAL MDG REPORT PRESENTED IN UZBEK CAPITAL

The first National Millennium Development Goals report for Uzbekistan was presented in Tashkent on Tuesday, 11 April.

The report was prepared by the United Nations Country Team in close consultations with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It aims to reflect on current trends for the country's development and facilitate the monitoring of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Uzbekistan. This document is also meant to increase public awareness of the MDGs and generate research and debate for action around the national development challenges.

The eight development goals agreed upon by President Karimov and the other world leaders at the Millennium Summit in 2000 are now placed at the heart of the UN system's work. The UN is tasked to provide support to the Governments in formulating and achieving national MDGs that correspond to their countries' development priorities. The present report for Uzbekistan is an outcome of this process and serves as an evidence of UN assistance being provided to the country within its mandate.

The report highlights the main development trends and provides basic indicators that facilitate the assessment of the current situation with regard to each of the national goals and the likelihood of reaching them by the year 2015. This analysis is supported by the statistical data on Uzbekistan derived from both national and international sources.

The MDG Report establishes the necessary links between global target setting and national priority setting. The national goals are very similar to the global ones. They were tailored to Uzbekistan's development context and priorities. Likewise, the country-specific MDG targets have been identified. The national MDGs are:
Goal No. 1 - Improving living standards and reducing malnutrition.
Goal No. 2 - Improving the quality of education in primary and secondary schools. Goal No. 3 - Promoting gender equality and empowering women.
Goal No. 4 - Reducing child mortality.
Goal No. 5 - Improving maternal health.
Goal No. 6 - Combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Goal No. 7 - Ensuring environmental sustainability.
Goal No. 8 - Uzbekistan and global partnership for development.

As is stated in the report, Uzbekistan is steadily fulfilling its commitments to address the MDGs. The national goals and targets are being incorporated in a number of state strategies and programmes and are widely used by the international donor community in support of the Government's efforts to meet the MDGs. The Interim Welfare Improvement Strategy Paper for 2005-2010 formulated by the Government in cooperation with the leading donor organizations serves as one of the encouraging examples. The report is meant for the widest possible readership in the country. Hence, it is written in an easy-to-read way and deliberately avoids detailed analysis and in-depth projections. The United Nations hopes to produce more in-depth reports on the MDGs and the significant targets in due course.

Achieving all MDGs will help improve the well-being of Uzbek citizens. A key to that is sustained and broad-based economic growth, which will provide widespread and productive employment to the population, says the report. This, in turn, will require collective effort and commitment by all parties involved -the Government, civil society, private sector, donors, and the public at large.

INTERNET USERS IN UZBEKISTAN TOP 1 MLN: OFFICIAL AGENCY

There were 1.08 million Internet users and 1.30 million cellular phone sub-scribers in Uzbekistan at the end of the first quarter of 2006, a source at the country's Communications and IT Agency told Interfax.

The number of Internet users was calculated based on figures from data network operators and providers, as well as estimates. The average number of visits to a public Internet access point is taken as 4-5 users per day, but the actual number is several times higher, the source said. "This calculation corresponds to the estimate made by independent experts, including foreign ones, and is even slightly lower," he said.

The figure for mobile subscribers is based on the number of connected and operating handsets reported by cellular operators to radio frequency agencies, which makes it possible to determine the actual number of cellular users in the country, he said.

WORLD CYBER GAMES 2006 UZBEKISTAN PRELIMINARY STARTS IN MAY

World Cyber Games 2006 Uzbekistan Preliminary will start in May, organisers said at press conference in Tashkent on 11 April.

Alexander Suchkov, chairman of editorial board of InfoCOM.UZ, said the World Cyber Games 2006 Uzbekistan Preliminary will be held in three stages in May-June.

First stage is regional competition and second stage is final of national championship. Third stage will be participation of Uzbekistan at Grand Final WCG 2006.

Regional stage will be held in five cities of Uzbekistan, including in Bukhara, Samarkand, Namangan, Karshi and Tashkent.

National final of WCG 2006 Uzbekistan Preliminary will be held on 30 June at International Business Centre in Tashkent. It is expected that 34 people will participate in the final stage in four official games of championship: "WarCraft 3: Frozen Throne", "StarCraft: Brood War", "Half-Life: Counter-Strike 1.6", "Need for Speed: Most Wanted".

Eight of 34 will get opportunity to represent Uzbekistan in Grand Final WCG 2006, which will be held in Italy on 16-22 October.

WCG Uzbekistan Preliminary organized by InfoCOM.UZ and Samsung Electronics is general sponsor of tournament. Uzbek Agency for Communication and Information (UzACI) is official supporter.

Asad Khodjaev, deputy chairman of UzACI, said such tournaments are important as they eliminate barriers in use of new technologies. He said only 24 states officially support games of 70 participants in Grand Final WCG 2006 and Uzbekistan among them.

First World Cyber Games was held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2000 and 174 players from 17 countries of the world participated in the tournament. Uzbekistan debuted in World Cyber Games in 2004, which was held in USA. Last year, Uzbekistan took 29th place in the tournament.

Khodjaev said that Uzbekistan expects high results from its representatives this year. It would be good if Uzbekistan takes one of top five places and added that Kazakhstan and Russia were among top 10 last year.

Prize fund of Grand Final WCG 2006 will be from US$450,000 to US$500,000. The final sum of prize fund will be announced one month prior to championship.

FAMOUS ISRAELI POET VISITS UZBEKISTAN

Famous Israeli poet Ronny Someck paid a visit to Uzbekistan on 6-13 April 2006. Ronny Someck visited pearls of Uzbekistan – Samarqand and Bukhara, where he had meetings at the Samarqand Institute of Foreign Languages and the Jewish School in Bukhara.

Poetry-lovers from Tashkent had a possibility to meet Ronny Someck at the International Culture Centre of Uzbekistan and become acquainted with his poems. Ronny Someck also visited Uzbek Union of Writers and Authors where he met his Uzbek colleagues, Israeli embassy in Tashkent said.

Ronny Someck was born in Baghdad in 1951 and came to Israel in early childhood. He studied literature and philosophy at the Tel Aviv University. Ronny Someck published a number of books of poems. His poems were translated into 39 languages, among them: Arab, English, French, Dutch, Polish and Russian. At this visit some of his poems were translated into Uzbek.