On 20 January, an international online roundtable discussion was held on the “Address by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Parliament: A program for further transformation of Uzbekistan”.

The event was organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS) and the Representative Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Central Asia.

The event was attended by over 30 experts from leading think tanks from 20 countries, including from Central and South Asia, CIS, EU, China, Turkey, and Malaysia.

The Uzbek side was represented by the leaders and specialists of the ISRS, the Institute for Problems of Legislation and Parliamentary Studies under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the National Center for Human Rights, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Development Strategy Center.

Representatives of analytical and research centers of Uzbekistan made reports on the results of large-scale reforms carried out in the country, priority areas for the country’s further development, outlined in the Address of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

ISRS First Deputy Director Akramjon Nematov drew attention to the political and legal nature of the Address, as an important mechanism to ensure openness and transparency of the activities of the supreme body of the state power and its accountability to people.

It was emphasized that the practice of addressing the Oliy Majlis by the Head of the state is an important tool for establishing a direct and trusting dialogue with people, consolidating and mobilizing society and the state for solving the most urgent problems of the country’s development, increasing the political and legal consciousness and civic activity of the population.

The structure of the current Address and its characteristic features were revealed.

According to the ISRS expert, the Address of the President of Uzbekistan to the parliament was traditionally comprehensive and at the same time open and specific. The President drew attention to the continuing acute problems that hinder the implementation of reforms, set precise tasks for their solution. At the same time, the issues of the socio-economic sphere, which most worried the population, were in the center of attention of the Head of the state. This, as A. Nematov noted, testifies to the fact that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev not only listens but also hears the problems and proposals of each citizen, responds to people’s hopes and expectations.

In his welcoming speech, the authorized representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Central Asia, Ronny Heine, emphasized that since 2017, under the direct leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has been steadily following the important path of modernizing the country, implementing large-scale reforms that are highly recognized in the world.

Expressing all possible support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to the ongoing reform policy in Uzbekistan, Ronny Heine noted the interest of the German side in enhancing and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with the Uzbek side in all priority areas of the country’s development.

Addressing the participants of the roundtable discussion, the Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Mikhail Fradkov emphasized that the new tasks presented by the President of Uzbekistan consistently complement and deepen the previously adopted strategic programs of fundamental transformations in all spheres of the country’s activity. According to Mikhail Fradkov, the Address formulates the key directions for further development of the economy, financial and banking spheres, improving social and domestic policies.

Mikhail Fradkov noted that it is important that everything has been done with an emphasis on improving the material wellbeing of people, increasing the attention of the authorities to the problems of different strata and categories of the population, caring for the health and education of the nation, and educating young people.

The Director of the leading Russian think tank expressed confidence that, despite the current difficult international situation, the pandemic and the global crisis, the implementation of the outlined plans and serious innovative approaches will ensure the further successful movement of the people of Uzbekistan along the path of creating a modern, open, free, socially-oriented, prosperous society.

Mikhail Fradkov welcomed the commitment of the Government of Uzbekistan to develop comprehensive friendly relations with Russia, as well as with China, the Central Asian states, and other countries.

At the event, foreign experts were presented with a draft State Program for 2021, which provides for specific measures to implement the tasks, initiatives, and proposals voiced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his Address.

An active discussion took place on the current issues voiced at the event. The participants agreed that the Address is a large-scale programmatic document reflecting the strategic vision of the country’s development, where a person, his interests, and wellbeing remains at the top of the entire system of priorities of the President of Uzbekistan. As noted, this is precisely where the uniqueness of the strategy of Uzbekistan’s leader for the modernization of the country and its broad support among the population are manifested.

UzA