Global Courant
On September 19, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he reassured the world community of his personal commitment to continued economic reform in Uzbekistan.
These reforms have the ambitious goal of doubling the size of the country’s economy by 2030. Mirziyoyev also held the first-ever talks with US President Joe Biden, in which the two leaders discussed the prospects for cooperation between Tashkent and Washington, as well as regional cooperation. in Central Asia.
The highest-level meetings between leaders in the United States were aimed at strengthening Uzbekistan’s global position and conveying the message that Uzbekistan is not just a post-Soviet Central Asian nation, but a promising player in the global trade, investment and political map.
Uzbekistan has undergone significant transformation since Mirziyoyev took over as president in 2016. In just a few years, this former Soviet republic, home to some 36 million people, has improved its business environment, attracted foreign investors and strengthened its economic and diplomatic ties with the country. the world community.
With Mirziyoyev recently re-elected for a new seven-year term, experts expect the country to continue its reform efforts and further strengthen its ties with major economies, including the United States.
Embracing independence
At the first-ever C5+1 summit in New York on September 19, which brought together leaders from the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Mirziyoyev held substantive talks with Biden about cooperation.
Central Asian countries are now gradually emerging as increasingly independent players on the global political stage, attracting the interest of the major economic powers. As president of the most populous country in the region, Shavkat Mirziyoyev plays a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the C5 countries, which is shaped on the basis of fundamental issues.
Since he became president seven years ago, relations between the C5 countries have also largely returned to normal.
Uzbekistan’s involvement in international trade, especially with China, has improved significantly in recent years. This was a topic of discussion between Mirziyoyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the China-Central Asia summit in May.
Promoting global trade relations is an important task for Uzbekistan as Mirziyoyev aims for his country to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The move is expected to help Uzbekistan double its annual exports to $45 billion, with a focus on agricultural products, IT services and tourism. To achieve this, it is crucial to gain support from the largest WTO member states and to address post-Soviet problematic issues.
One of the pressing issues that Uzbekistan has successfully addressed under Mirziyoyev’s leadership is forced labor, including child labor, in the cotton industry, which makes up a large part of the country’s exports. This now-banned state practice, often called “cotton slavery,” affected some 500,000 adults and nearly 2 million children annually.
For years, officials ordered locals to work in the cotton fields from mid-September to late December, resulting in the closure of schools and hospitals as many schoolchildren and public sector workers, including doctors and teachers, were forced to harvest fluffy cotton seeds to pick.
The practice of ‘cotton slavery’ came to an end under Mirziyoyev, who ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions against forced and child labor. Departing from the past, Uzbekistan has shifted its focus from exporting raw cotton to prioritizing cotton processing in the country, often in partnership with foreign investors.
Workers involved in the cotton harvest now receive competitive market wages, and private farmers have won the right to grow and export cotton.
The international coalition Cotton Campaign recognized these efforts and lifted the boycott of Uzbek cotton in 2022, ending a restriction that had been in place for more than a decade.
Forced and child labor in cotton picking were just one example of the problems Mirziyoyev faced. For years, Uzbekistan was a closed and authoritarian state where the rights of foreign investors were violated and the local currency could not be exchanged at the official rate. State monopolies dominated the business landscape and citizens were imprisoned for expressing their political views.
Far-reaching reform
After taking over the country’s helm in 2016, Mirziyoyev charted a path for transformation. He initiated several crucial changes, including the liberalization of the sum exchange rate, the Uzbek currency, the release of political prisoners, the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles for businesses, and the opening of the nation to foreign investors and tourists.
A referendum was held in April illustrating the broad support for massive transformation at virtually all levels of life in Uzbekistan. More than 90% of voters expressed support for the new constitution, often called the ‘People’s Constitution’.
The Constitution sets out key national development priorities, including improving citizens’ well-being, ensuring access to quality education and health care, and unequivocally banning forced labor.
Building on this constitutional framework, Mirziyoyev presented a new Uzbekistan 2030 strategy that was officially adopted in September. The primary goal of this strategy is to double the country’s gross domestic product by 2030 and increase GDP per capita to $4,000, which would place Uzbekistan among upper-middle-income countries.
President Mirziyoyev also wants to boost economic growth by attracting $110 billion in foreign investment over the next seven years and privatizing state-owned enterprises.
When it comes to foreign policy, Mirziyoyev’s reforms can be described as a multi-pronged approach. He has successfully repaired relations with his Central Asian neighbors, which were under strain during his predecessor’s term in office. Uzbekistan cooperates with international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and has issued dollar bonds to strengthen its financial position.
Notably, last year Uzbekistan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in the city of Samarkand, demonstrating its commitment to regional cooperation. In addition, exhibitions on Uzbek art and culture have found a home in major global cities such as Berlin and Paris.
Other acute global issues are also on Uzbekistan’s radar. In line with the global trend to decarbonize the economy, President Mirziyoyev is implementing a program aimed at developing renewable energy. The aim is to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix to 30% by 2030.
To achieve this ambitious goal, partnerships have been established with countries from the Middle East, Europe and China to help build solar and wind power plants in Uzbekistan.
Ecologists say “green economy” projects are a necessity for the Central Asian region, which is facing an environmental disaster: the drying up of the Aral Sea. In recent years, Uzbekistan has planted drought-resistant plants on 1.7 million hectares of dry seabed to combat desertification, making an important contribution to the global fight against climate change.
Uzbekistan is also promoting the establishment of a water-saving technology platform in Central Asia, with support from the UN.
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