President: every decision, every service and every process must serve the interests of people

On November 28, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the opening ceremony of the international forum dedicated to the elimination of bureaucracy, which takes place in the capital's International congress center.

The forum is attended by high representatives of the governments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates, foreign states and international organizations, leading experts in the field of public administration, as well as representatives of the public.

The head of state in his speech expressed sincere gratitude to the Minister of Government Affairs of the UAE Muhammad al-Gergawi for his assistance in organizing this events. The President warmly congratulated the people and leadership of the United Arab Emirates on the upcoming national holiday - State Establishment Day.

- We are building a New Uzbekistan, guided by the humanistic idea: “It is not the people who should serve government bodies, but government bodies should serve our people,” the President emphasized.

As noted, in our country priority is given to eliminating bureaucracy, unnecessary procedures and administrative barriers for the population and business. Systemic reforms have been carried out to radically transform and digitalize the national system of public services, optimize the activities of government bodies, and establish a direct and open dialogue between government agencies and citizens.

In recent years, the republic has adopted 9 decrees and resolutions aimed at reducing bureaucracy. The created public service centers, the Unified Portal of Public Services, and the Digital Government system have made services accessible, fast and transparent.

If in 2017 only 444 types of public services were provided, today their number has reached 1,040. The number of services provided has increased almost tenfold and exceeded 55 million. More than 90 types of services began to be provided in a proactive and composite format.

For example, the composite provision of services related to the birth of a child facilitates the process for almost a million citizens every year. Social benefits and age pensions are assigned automatically, without citizens’ requests.

Due to digitalization, it has become possible to provide 30 types of services in real time. This year alone, almost 8 million services were provided automatically. The transition to electronic document management allows the population to save 23 billion soums annually.

In addition, to improve the convenience of business, over 160 types of licenses and permits have been canceled. More than 150 permits are issued in electronic format. The requirement to provide more than 140 types of certificates and documents has been completely abolished.

Public services began to be provided on the basis of the extraterritorial principle. The principle “Start a business in 15 minutes” is being put into practice.

The President said that today a separate program to reduce bureaucracy has been approved. The document involves the elimination of bureaucracy in relations “state-population”, “state-business” and within the state apparatus, as well as the creation of the most convenient ecosystem of public services.

– Our ultimate goal is to turn Uzbekistan into a country with zero bureaucracy by 2030, the President noted.

The program has identified important tasks that will be implemented until 2030. In particular, the number of public services will be increased to 1.5 thousand, the share of electronic services will be increased to 95 percent.

Next year alone, an additional 250 services will be transferred to electronic format. In particular, vehicle registration, VAT refund and other popular services will switch to electronic format.

The “Paperless Government” system will be fully implemented in New Uzbekistan, providing for a complete abandonment of paper document flow. Of the existing 40 million documents, 25 million will be digitized, with 5 million already next year.

The number of proactive and composite services will be increased to 400. Next year alone, 180 new composite services will appear.

– As a result, we will move to a system in which the service is provided to the citizen without his request, – the President emphasized.

In addition, all government services will be fully inventoried. Duplicate, redundant and creating an unreasonable burden on citizens will be eliminated.

More than 300 procedures in the field of licensing and permits, connection to utility networks and construction will be simplified. For example, connection to four types of utility networks will be carried out on the basis of a single application.

Service delivery times will be significantly reduced. For more than 100 types of services, terms will be reduced by 50 percent. The requirement to submit over 110 types of documents will be completely eliminated.

The unified portal of public services, the "License" system, the customs platform "Single Window" and call centers will operate on the basis of artificial intelligence.

Annually, the activities of ministries and departments will be assessed through a special digital platform. Institutions and employees who have achieved high results will be rewarded.

For constant monitoring of the implementation of the program, as well as coordination of the activities of ministries and departments to reduce bureaucracy, a Program Office will be created.

Opportunities are created for the population and business to directly submit their proposals and new initiatives within the framework of the program. They will also be given the opportunity to evaluate the activities of government bodies in this direction. For this purpose, a prize fund of $3 million will be created.

Due to this fund, separate cash awards will be awarded to citizens, business representatives and government officials who have proposed effective solutions to reduce bureaucracy. Additional nominations will be introduced.

– Eliminating bureaucracy is one of the key tasks of the state, aimed at serving the people. We must create a system in which it is not the citizen who goes to the government body, but the state itself that comes to each citizen and solves his problems. This should be a modern and human-centric image of public administration of New Uzbekistan,” the President emphasized.

After the speech, the head of state pressed a symbolic button and launched the Program for Eliminating Bureaucracy.

At the end of the opening ceremony, the President spoke with members of the public about the significance of the forum and the proposed initiatives. It was noted that the idea “In the name of the honor and dignity of man” underlies all reforms carried out in the country, and that the interests of people should be at the center of any reform, every decision, every public service and every process.