September 22, 2008
Economics:
Joint Company Plans to Export $4 m-Worth Goods Abroad in ‘08
PetroVietnam chairperson visits Uzbekneftegaz
International Forum on Agriculture Takes Place in Tashkent
Auto caravans on the Great Silk Road
Fuel diversification cuts risks
Dynamic development of cattle farming
Society:
Mass Media Role in Democratic Reforms Discussed at Seminar
Plastic surgeries for youngest
Labor market demands young specialists
Musical parade of creative ideas
ECONOMY
JOINT COMPANY PLANS TO EXPORT $4 M-WORTH GOODS ABROAD IN ‘08
The production capacity of the Uzbek-German Joint Venture Yakkabogtex of Kashkadarya Province makes up 2.800 tons of yarns per year, the Pravda Vostoka newspaper reported.
The company is actively engaged in modernizing operations. For over the first half of this year the foreign investment worth 250.000 dollars has been attracted to company. At the moment, about 30 now jobs were created. By late 2008 the company plans to attract 560.000 dollars more investment and establish 40 new vacancies additionally.
Thanks to attraction of foreign investments the company has so far put into operation spinning room equipped with a cutting-edge technology from Germany.
Currently, the company fully exports its production abroad. By late this year it plans to export to foreign consumers the products worth four million dollars.
PETROVIETNAM CHAIRPERSON VISITS UZBEKNEFTEGAZ
President and Chief Executive Officer of PetroVietnam Tran Ngoc Canh met with the chairperson of Uzbekneftegaz national holding company Ulugbek Sultanov, the Uzbek company said.
The Uzbek company said PetroVietnam representatives are not visiting Uzbekistan for the first time and express their interest to development of bilateral dialogue.
On 21 August 2008, the sides signed an agreement on mutual cooperation between Uzbekneftegaz and PetroVietnam.
During the visit, the sides discussed issues of participation of PetroVietnam in exploration of investment blocks in Uzbekistan and palaeozoic deposits at Bukhara-Khiva region. The parties also considered possibility of creation of the joint venture, which will explore and render services in Uzbekistan, Vietnam and third countries, based on agreement.
It was agreed that the sides will agree and prepare corresponding documents by the next meeting.
INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON AGRICULTURE TAKES PLACE IN TASHKENT
Conference on scientific basis and technologies of development of agriculture was held in Tashkent. Regional Program on Central Asia and the Transcaucuses of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) organized the event, the agencies reported.
Specialists, experts and scholars from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, India, Azerbaijan and Armenia took part at the conference.
The delegates to the conference noted that at the moment shortage of water resources is an urgent problem for many countries. They have underscored that improving management of water resources and their rational use provide for not only the stable development of agriculture and food security but also would promote better human health, environment protection, as much as preserving of ecologic balance.
They have also discussed developing agriculture, raising soil productivity, bettering land reclamation, rational using water resources, introducing water saving technologies, enhancing exchange of views globally and expanding cooperation.
AUTO CARAVANS ON THE GREAT SILK ROAD
On 16 September, international conference on development of automobile communication between Asia and Europe through Central Asia was held in Tashkent.
The event was organized by the Ministry for foreign economic relations, investments and trade together with the Association of international automobile carriers of Uzbekistan and the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
Representatives of corresponding ministries and departments, international organizations and financial institutions took part in the conference, among which were the Asian development bank, Islamic development bank and carmakers from the CIS.
The conference participants noted that Uzbekistan possessed a great potential in transportation sphere, particularly, in transit. They discussed problems and prospects of road communication in Central Asia and attraction of investments.
Presentation of the IRU project called New Eurasian Land Transportation Initiative (NELTI) was held during the conference. It aims at establishing regular cargo transportation by road along the ancient Great Silk Road.
Transportation companies Bunyod, BK Intrans, O‘rta Osiyo Trans from Uzbekistan, Atrim Logistik from Russian, Oshmezhtrans from Kyrgyzstan, Karadeniz from Turkey and Iranian Tizgaman Jahan are taking part in the project. Lorries of these companies will deliver industrial and consumer goods to European destinations.
FUEL DIVERSIFICATION CUTS RISKS
The implementation of a wide-scale state program on transferring a part of vehicles from gasoline to liquefied hydrocarbon and compressed natural gas in Uzbekistan makes it possible to avoid negative affects resulted from sharp rise of prices for fuel as it is observed in the world markets.
In accordance with a governmental program, within six months it is intended to transfer 198,000 vehicles from gasoline to the alternative fuel. It is planned to substantially expand the relevant infrastructure to prevent the increasing number of vehicles from fueling problem.
By the end of 2012 the republic will construct 138 gas filling compressor stations and 952 gas stations.
Uzbekistan has very favorable conditions for using the alternative types of motor fuel, particularly, natural gas. The country ranks fifth-largest in the world in gas reserves, and an integrated gas supply system ensures natural gas delivery across the country. The expansion of gas filling compressor stations network will increase domestic compressed gas consumption from 280 mln to around 1 bln cubic meters a year.
Uzbekistan’s main compressed gas deliverers are the Mubarek Gas Processing Plant, Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex and unitary enterprises, Shurtanneftegaz (Shurtan oil and gas) and Mubarekneftegaz. The Ferghana and Bukhara gas processing plants also deliver liquefied gas. Consumers are supplied with propane-butane via highway or railroad system.
In recent time the republic has paid much attention to utilization of associated petroleum gas and extraction of liquefied one. For instance, O’zbekneftegaz national holding company launches projects on increasing the output of liquefied gas in acting production facilities of Mubarek Gas Processing Plant and Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex. The project enables the industry to increase output of liquefied gas from present 220,000-240,000 tons to 615,000 tons by 2012. The volume of liquefied gas output will cover demands of the home vehicle market, which are because of transition to new fuel to grow from 210,000 tons in 2007 to 638,000 tons by 2012.
Entrepreneurs showed high interest in the alternative types of motor fuel, staffs of gas filling compressor stations think, after putting of liquefied gas on Uzbek Commodity Exchange. A free access to fuel will encourage its consumption in Uzbekistan.
According to data from the Uzbek State Statistics Committee, the country’s output of liquefied gas increased by 7.5% in January-June this year against the same period last year and reached 120,600 tons.
DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CATTLE FARMING
Cattle farming is one of the most rapidly developing sectors of agriculture in Uzbekistan. This year the livestock increased by 273,000 and reached over 7.478 mln head.
Currently, in the country’s agriculture nearly 9,000 farms or 7% run livestock business. The aggregate area given for fodder growing is about 310,000 ha.
In accordance with the presidential decree “On additional measures of enhancing the promotion of increase in livestock in personal, auxiliary, family-farms and farms and expansion of livestock products”, the republic is systematically implementing a program on further increase of livestock, promotion of employment and rise of incomes of rural population, increase of diary and meat products output and filling up of the home consumer market with local products.
Basing on goals set, the country plans to increase by 2010 the livestock up to 8.599 mln head, area under fodder crops up to 330,000 ha and output of mixed fodder at enterprises of O’zdonmahsulot JSC (Uzbek grain product) from 696,000 tons in 2008 to 900,000 tons in 2010.
As for micro crediting of cattle farms, the Employment Assistance Fund and commercial banks intend to allocate 45 bln soums.
The state implements a number of projects including expansion and rational distribution of special fodder sales points in regions to ensure full access of farmers to them, work on improving skills of cattle farmers and creation of special pedigree farms.
The livestock of sheep and goats has increased by 295,000, cows by 133,000 and birds by 1.643 thousand head. That favored production growth of meat by 30,000 tons, milk 121,900 tons, eggs by 61.8 mln and wool by 690 tons.
One of the main contemporary tasks of cattle farm reforming is further re-equipment of republican and regional veterinary laboratories and zoo-veterinary points with up-to-date facilities and apparatuses and setting up production of zoo-veterinary technologies in Uzbekistan. The republic allocated 850 mln soums for these purposes and launched 58 zoo-veterinary points. In the first half of 2008 the republican veterinary laboratory offered 2.587 bln soums in services to farms that is 1.242 bln soums more than in the same period of 2007.
The republic imported 410 head of pedigree stock for improving the quality of cattle breeding and the republican O’znaslchilik (Uzbek breeding) enterprise set up a laboratory for deep freezing of bull semen.
SOCIETY
MASS MEDIA ROLE IN DEMOCRATIC REFORMS DISCUSSED AT SEMINAR
The seminar training on role of mass media in democratic reforms was held in Tashkent. Public fund to support and develop independent print mass media and news agencies of Uzbekistan, Institute for study of civil society and the representation of the U.S. Institute of New Democracies in Uzbekistan organized the event, according to the agencies.
The heads of leading newspapers and magazines, Internet publications and non-state television channels, professors, teachers and students of journalism faculties at higher educational institutions, and the staff members of public organizations took part at the seminar.
The role of mass media grows in impartially and fairly reporting about the essence and significance of ongoing democratic reforms and spiritual renewal of society.
Granting freedom to mass media, providing them with independence, strengthening material and technical basis, raising professional mastery and skills of reporters create broad opportunities in terms of consolidating democratic foundations of society.
The participants of seminar spoke on raising the activeness of mass media, moral aspects of journalist’s activity in reporting about the reforms now underway in Uzbekistan, retraining and raising the qualification of journalists, as well as improving national press in line with international standards.
PLASTIC SURGERIES FOR YOUNGEST
The staff of the new plastic surgery branch of the clinic at the Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute achieved excellent results, which inferior to none of European clinics.
Professor Khan from Seoul University has visited the branch once again recently. During the meeting with patients he was surprised by the highest quality of the doctor’s work and asked thirteen years old boy, who had an ear surgery: “Who was your surgeon?” The boy answered: “Murod Jafarov was.” This doctor is head of the branch and a disciple of the Korean Professor. In the end of the examination the Korean doctor noted that he was glad to know that results of some of his pupils surpass his own ones. Doctors of the branch also got high estimations of their colleagues from Russia and Singapore, with whom they keep up the academic exchange program.
Today surgeries of such inborn defects as lack of an ear, cleft lip, cleft palate and also after burns are successfully made in the plastic surgery branch of the clinic at the Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute. For three years of operating this branch made a breakthrough in native medicine. Though such surgeries were available in Uzbekistan earlier, the young team managed to put them on the highest level. The surgeries they make leave no visible defects or scars. And this fact is very important when we speak about a child’s face.
“We have achieved high results owing to that we took all the best of domestic and modern medicine,” commented head of the branch Murod Jafarov. “In our work everything is important: the technique of surgeries, tools used, suture and bandaging materials, antiseptics. They help to smooth post-operational scars.”
Today the clinic and the branch plan to expand their activity and the list of pathologies they will be dealing. In particular, in the nearest perspective they plan to do micro surgeries here.
LABOR MARKET DEMANDS YOUNG SPECIALISTS
The job placement time of higher educational institution graduates is about to end. The Uzbek Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education says that this year, it was preliminary predicted, all young people having higher education will be supplied with relevant jobs.
“Both students studied on state budget and contract basis are successfully getting jobs. Currently, preliminary data say, nearly 80 percent of young specialists applied for jobs independently,” the head of department for purposeful specialist training in higher educational institutions, Shermat Avezov, said. “It is due that in recent years the system of purposeful training of specialists has substantially improved. The admission quotas of higher educational institutions take into account predictions of industries. The vacancy data base is developed beforehand. In recent years higher educational establishments have also developed their partnership with industrial enterprises and have paid special attention to the production practice of students. Thus, students know their job places upon the end of study.”
And we are always ready to support those students who have not their chosen their future job yet. If students studying on budget basis are distributed to jobs obligatorily, contract-studied students can get assignments to job. In this case, they must obligatorily work for three years as a rule. The interviewee said that the demand of graduate distribution system was 18,000-20,000 job places this year. Over 30,000 vacancies were prepared for these purposes, i.e. the labor market has potential of supplying all higher education institution graduates with job.
Furthermore, the permanent monitoring system of graduate job placement which makes it possible to resolve all problems cropped up.
MUSICAL PARADE OF CREATIVE IDEAS
From 19 September the “Davr Sadolari II” (Melodies of time) music festival begins its four-month marathon in the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, which will take place across the country till December 12. The great project is organized by the Composers Union of Uzbekistan, State Conservatory and O’zbekteatr (Uzbek theater) creation and production association.
The second music festival “Davr Sadolari” will show achievements of Uzbek music art and rich variety of Uzbek composers. It will be totally organized over 30 concerts, it will be parties of symphonic, chamber, vocal and children’s music. Several concerts will be dedicated to genre of musical drama, opera and ballet. Special attention is paid to children’s music for the youth and children.
“It is a very wide festival including compositions created by Uzbekistan’s composers in past five years,” the chairman of Composers Union of Uzbekistan, Rustam Abdullaev, said. “In this period many compositions of various genres were created and we have aspired to embrace all of them. It is children’s music that will be performed by children’s choir, “Bulbulcha” (Nightingale), supervised by Shermat Yarmatov at the festival. It is chamber, chamber and vocal, chamber and instrumental and chamber and orchestra music. We have also planned concerts of cantata, oratorial and symphonic music, drama music (nearly 12 compositions of this genre were created over past three years), opera and ballet. In addition to them, two concerts of melodist composers’ works will take place this year. Folk music and songs will sound here.”
The festival will comprise almost all theater stages of Tashkent and some regions of the republic. The conservatory will host the concerts of symphonic music, musical drama, respectively, in Mukimy theater of musical drama and comedy and opera and ballet in Navoi State Academic Grand Theater. Various concerts will take place in music educational institutions. It is intended to hold a scientific conference on problems and tasks of composing and performing creation within the festival.
Leading music staffs of the country, particular reformers, students of music schools and lyceums and the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan will participate in the festival. Foreign musicians from Germany, Korea and Vietnam express interest to take part in the Tashkent festival.
Young talents will show their creation in the Uzbek capital’s best concert halls as a part of the State program on year of youth.