Uzbekistan on the path to sustainable development: initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly

The general political debate of the 80th anniversary session of the General Assembly took place at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Despite the fact that the event is taking place in a difficult international situation, the General Assembly remains the center of world diplomacy.

September 23 of this year. Among the first world leaders, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke from a high rostrum. The President's speech reflected not only the dynamics of reforms in the country, but also bold foreign policy initiatives that could strengthen the role of Central Asia on the world stage.

The international community highly appreciated the speech of the President of Uzbekistan. In particular, Euronews assessed his speech as “visionary.” It is emphasized that she demonstrated how Uzbekistan is “building prosperity at home and partnerships abroad in a rapidly changing global environment.”

The official UN website notes that the main idea of ​​his speech is a call for finding collective solutions to overcome growing crises, such as the weakening role of international institutions, growing conflicts and technological inequality. In turn, UN Secretary-General A. Guterres especially noted the President's call for reform of the UN, in particular, expanding the composition of the Security Council to more effectively protect the interests of developing countries.

In his speech, the Leader of the country especially emphasized the importance of internal reforms, considering them as a key element in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For comprehensive social and economic progress, initiatives were proposed to improve internal reforms and “dramatically improve the quality of life of every family and every citizen.”

Firstly,noting the country’s successes in socio-economic transformation, the President emphasized that one of the priority areas of national policy is poverty reduction, which is the first goal of the SDGs.

In the context of global challenges, the fight against poverty has become the most important task of the state. All measures are aimed at creating conditions in which every person, especially youth and women, can realize their maximum potential.

In particular, sustainable progress has been achieved through consistent strategic steps. Thus, in recent years, the poverty level in the country has decreased to 6.6% (17% in 2022, 11% in 2023). According to leading international financial organizations, Uzbekistan has demonstrated one of the best indicators in this area among the countries of Europe and Central Asia.

Uzbekistan has set a goal of doubling its gross domestic product by 2030, entering the group of countries with upper-middle income levels and fulfilling its international obligations on sustainable development. In this regard, the national program “From Poverty to Prosperity” is being implemented, aimed at comprehensively improving the standard of living of the population.

Secondly,special emphasis was placed on the education system.

Of course, education is one of the key components of human capital and an important factor in economic growth.

In this context, Sh. Mirziyoyev's initiative to hold the World Vocational Education Summit in Uzbekistan was completely justified and timely. This proposal is especially relevant against the backdrop of a global shortage of qualified personnel. This situation, according to UNESCO, is due to the insufficient adaptation of education to new realities, which require not only traditional knowledge, but also the so-called “competencies of the 21st century.”

First of all, vocational education is considered critical for ensuring that human resources meet the requirements of the labor market, which is especially important in the context of rapid modernization of the economy, where technological advances are disrupting traditional employment models. Today, only qualified specialists are able to develop and implement innovations and increase competitiveness.

Based on this, Uzbekistan pays special attention to vocational education. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev declared 2026 “The Year of Preparing Youth for Modern Professions” and identified priority directions for the development of the vocational education system for the coming years.

As ​​part of the ongoing programs, it was instructed to increase the coverage of secondary vocational education to 50% in 2026. In order to create a new educational environment and introduce international standards in all 598 technical schools in the country, a Vocational Education Agency is being created.

Within a year, 100 technical schools will establish cooperation with educational organizations in Germany, Switzerland, China, Korea and the UK with the launch of their advanced vocational training programs.

In this context, special attention is paid to promoting dual education as a modern promising training models. Notable is its implementation within industrial projects. According to new government programs, in 2026, 456 large industrial projects will be launched in the country with a total cost of about 45 billion dollars.

It is expected that the coverage of dual education will increase 5 times. At the same time, partner enterprises will be provided with preferential loans of up to 5 billion soums, and the unified social payment for students under the dual system will be halved, becoming an additional incentive for business.

In this regard, holding the summit in Uzbekistan opens up new opportunities for the development of global dialogue in the field of education. The event will draw attention to the introduction of digital technologies and adaptation of educational programs to the needs of a rapidly changing labor market. The forum will contribute not only to improving the quality of education, but also to expanding opportunities for young people, reducing unemployment and strengthening social stability.

Thirdly,The President paid special attention to the youth agenda.

The head of state emphasized that the future of the world depends on the younger generation and put forward an initiative to establish a World Youth Movement for Peace with headquarters in Uzbekistan.

The initiative is especially relevant given the rapidly growing number of young people. Today there are 1.2 billion young people in the world between the ages of 15 and 24, representing 16 percent of the world's population. By 2030, their number will increase to 1.3 billion.

Based on this, since 2018, the UN has adopted over 10 international acts, which define the main directions of youth policy and ways to solve youth problems. The adoption of the Declaration on Future Generations in 2024 and the introduction of a new position in the UN system - the Special Envoy for Future Generations - is a clear indication of the importance of this issue.

Uzbekistan attaches enormous importance to youth issues, unlocking their potential in all areas, as well as improving the legislative framework and programs. In particular, in the new edition of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chapter XIV is dedicated to the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of youth.

The Concept for the development of state youth policy in Uzbekistan is being implemented, which is based on the principle: “Working with youth in the interests of youth”, set out in the UN Youth 2030 Strategy.

Within The concept creates all the conditions for obtaining quality knowledge. Currently, over 2 thousand of our students are studying at top universities in the world, 750 of them are funded by the state through the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation. It is worth noting that last year the youth of Uzbekistan took 1st place in Central Asia in terms of admission to the top 500 universities.

Problems with youth employment are being resolved. As practical measures, programs for professional training and support for youth entrepreneurial initiatives have been approved and are in operation.

In accordance with the Decree of the head of state, the Youth Business program will be implemented in 2025–2027, covering 350 thousand young people. It provides for the creation of at least 100 thousand additional jobs, the provision of comprehensive services for young entrepreneurs and preferential financing for start-ups and investment projects.

Fourth,in the speech, special attention was paid to gender issues.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that strengthening The role of women in public, political and business life is the most important condition for the sustainable development of the country.

As noted in the UN Gender Review 2025 report, narrowing the gender digital gap alone could benefit 343.5 million women worldwide, lift 30 million out of poverty by 2050, and ensure global GDP growth of $1.5 trillion by 2030.

Uzbekistan is implementing large-scale measures to increase the political, social, and economic activity of women, promote gender equality, and ensure the rights and interests of women.

The basis for the ongoing work is a modern legislative framework that meets international standards. Over the past five years, over 80 regulatory documents have been adopted, including the laws “On guarantees of equal rights and opportunities for women and men” and “On the protection of women from oppression and violence.” New mechanisms are being introduced into practice: gender examination of bills, formation of a gender-oriented budget, conducting a gender audit.

The Gender Strategy for the period until 2030 has been adopted in order to adjust the gender equality policy and ensure its full implementation in all industries and sectors.

Taking into account the set tasks, work is underway to train women leaders. In this year The Senate of the Oliy Majlis, together with the Republican Commission for Enhancing the Role of Women, UNDP and with the support of the British government, launched a training program for representatives of political parties. It should be noted that the share of women in public administration has now reached 35 percent, up from 27 percent in 2017.

The comprehensive nature of the policies pursued has been praised by international observers. In the gender equality ranking, the country rose to 52nd place (103 in 2022) - the best indicator in Central Asia.

The official opening of the UN Women office in Uzbekistan this year marked the beginning of a new era in the ongoing cooperation between the UN and Uzbekistan. It was also a testament to the international recognition of the country's progress in promoting gender equality, as well as a manifestation of the UN's strong commitment to building a more inclusive and just society.

Having brought this topic to the highest international level, the head of state initiated the holding of the Asian Women's Forum on a regular basis.

The Forum was first held in 2024 in Samarkand; the initiative to convene it was put forward by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

This large-scale initiative fits organically into the UN global strategy “Women, Peace, Security”, and making this event regular The forum is a significant addition to the reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan in this area. After all, the forum serves as a unique platform for exchanging experiences on expanding women’s participation in management and strengthening their role in the economy. According to the UN, today the Asian continent is home to 4.82 billion people, representing 60.6% of the world's population. Of these, 2.3 billion are women, i.e. 48.8% of the total population of the region.

In general, the speech of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 80th anniversary session of the UN General Assembly reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The initiatives outlined in the report reflect a vision of a future where human capital and global solidarity are the main resources for progress.

Shakhnoza Kadirova,

Head of the Department of the Institute

Strategic and Interregional Studies

under the President Republic of Uzbekistan