Speech by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the ceremony dedicated to the 34th anniversary of state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Dear compatriots!

Dear guests!

Ladies and gentlemen!

I sincerely congratulate you, all our multinational people, compatriots abroad on the glorious date - the thirty-fourth anniversary of the independence of Uzbekistan.

Dear friends!

On these joyful days, we all realize even more deeply one thing life truth. Thanks to the large-scale reforms launched on the basis of the idea of ​​creating a New Uzbekistan, today each of our compatriots actually feels and widely enjoys the rights and freedoms that independence gave us.

Based on this noble idea, we have rethought the three-thousand-year history of our statehood, the milestones in the development of our rich culture. We are reviving the traditions of the First and Second Renaissance, taking confident practical steps towards the Third Renaissance in our country.

I am convinced that on this path the state and society of New Uzbekistan will become a strong bridge connecting our glorious history with the new - even brighter period of the Renaissance.

There is a deep meaning in wise words the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi: “The purpose of the creation of this world is man, the desire to see him happy.” This is exactly what our people have dreamed of for many centuries, this is what has become the essence and content of all our reforms.

The construction of a New Uzbekistan, based on the principle “In the name of the honor and dignity of man, in the name of his happiness,” has in fact turned into a nationwide movement.

Despite the difficult situation in the world, the economy of Uzbekistan demonstrates stable growth rates above 6 percent, and this indicates that our people are confidently following their chosen path.

The country's population increases annually by an average of 700-800 thousand. Every year 500–600 thousand young men and women enter the labor market. It is not easy to provide education and a profession to so many people and ensure their employment. A well-functioning system, guaranteed investments and infrastructure are needed.

Having thought through this issue in advance and deeply, we have adopted specific programs in this direction. Based on a separate approach, starting from self-employed entrepreneurship to large businesses, we created a large-scale support system at the mahalla level.

We can say with confidence that entrepreneurship in New Uzbekistan has become a driving, powerful force of the economy.

Let's look at the numbers. Over the past eight years, gross domestic product has doubled, reaching $115 billion last year, and exports amounted to $26 billion. And by the end of this year, GDP will already be 130 billion dollars. For the first time in the country's history, gold and foreign exchange reserves exceeded $48 billion. About $130 billion of foreign investment was attracted to the country.

Of course, all this is the result of our reforms, a strong guarantor of our development, confirmation of the high trust of international financial institutions and foreign companies in Uzbekistan.

Thousands of modern enterprises and socio-economic infrastructure facilities are being built before our eyes. Please note that this year, due to $35 billion of investments, about 9 thousand new enterprises and service complexes will be created. On the eve of our greatest holiday, 79 large facilities worth a total of $4 billion were commissioned.

Over the past period, the number of small and medium-sized businesses has doubled. Today, more than 10 million people work and earn income in this sector.

At the beginning of the year, we set ourselves a high bar to provide employment to 5.5 million people. In eight months, 5 million have already been employed.

The most important thing is that this year alone, 700 thousand of our citizens working abroad, having become convinced of the effectiveness of the reforms we are carrying out, returned to the country, to their families.

As is tradition, last week we held an open dialogue with entrepreneurs and resolved all the issues raised by business representatives. In particular, we agreed to provide them with new resources, benefits and preferences for a total of more than 50 trillion soums and adopted a corresponding resolution. We will, of course, continue this work.

Today Uzbekistan is open to the whole world. The number of foreign tourists is growing from year to year and last year exceeded 10 million, the export of tourism services amounted to more than $3 billion.

In order to revive our ancient history and national identity, a number of unique objects are being built. Among them, a special place is occupied by the Center of Islamic Civilization, the memorial complex of Imam Bukhari in Samarkand, the construction and improvement of which is being completed.

I am confident that these masterpieces of modern architecture, reflecting the high spiritual potential of our people, will become new attractions of Uzbekistan, arousing great interest among compatriots and the world community. These complexes open up additional opportunities for our entrepreneurs to further attract tourists.

Another goal of ours is to support entrepreneurs who respect and comply with the laws, creating even more favorable conditions for them.

In this regard, based on the principle “Honest work is a guarantee of a quiet life and a prosperous society,” we are implementing important measures to curb the shadow economy. I am convinced that civil institutions, subjects of public control, the media, parliament and local Kengashes will actively participate in this process.

Dear compatriots!

With the development of our economy and population growth, the need for safe and stable energy resources is increasing.

Over the past eight years, the number of consumers in the country increased by 25 percent, that is, an additional 1 million 600 thousand, consumption volume - by 54 percent, or an additional 25 billion kWh. Therefore, we see our future development in promoting the “green” economy.

First of all, we have taken huge steps to increase the share of “green” energy. As a result, since 2016, the volume of electricity produced has increased from 59 billion kWh to 85 billion kWh, and next year it is estimated to be 97 billion kWh.

This year alone, 6.5 billion kWh of “green” energy was generated. Most importantly, its share in total generation capacity has reached 30 percent.

By 2030, we will attract another $35 billion in direct investment and increase the green energy figure to 54 percent.

We consider it our sacred duty, while respecting nature, to leave a beautiful country with fertile land as a legacy for future generations, clear water, clean air.

To this end, we will further expand the work within the framework of the nationwide project “Yashil Makon”. Our large-scale programs implemented in the current Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy are important in this direction.

Over the past eight years, more than 31 million square meters of housing, or about 12 thousand multi-storey residential buildings, have been built in the country, which has become a truly historic result. This year, modern houses with another 130 thousand apartments will be built and delivered in the New Uzbekistan and other areas.

By 2030, we will increase the level of greening in all our cities to 30 percent based on the "green city" standards used throughout the world.

In this way, the country will be provided with sustainable energy, significantly the harmful impact on the environment and human health will be reduced.

At the same time, based on master plans, we will create comfortable conditions in every village and every mahalla, just like in the city. We will develop small towns on the basis of modern infrastructure, we will raise their improvement to a new level.

Dear friends!

In our country, we have created a completely new model of social protection policy. This system has reached every home, we have established individual work with the needy population, organized Inson centers, all this serves to form an inclusive society in which everyone has equal opportunities.

In our country there is no stranger, no stranger's child. We are all children of one Motherland and serve for the benefit of our people.

In this sense, the fate of even one compatriot in a difficult situation should concern us all equally. After all, the greatest strength of our people is mercy, spiritual generosity and unity.

An important result was that, within the framework of the “Hamrokhlik” (“Accompaniment”) program, we covered 11 thousand children deprived of parental care through the system of education, vocational training, and sports. 110 types of assistance and services have been provided to more than 2.5 million members of needy families. In general, this year alone we are allocating funds in the amount of 19 trillion soums to the social protection of vulnerable segments of the population.

As a result, we have achieved a reduction in the poverty level in the country to 6.8 percent. And if you consider that 5-6 years ago, international organizations estimated the poverty level in Uzbekistan at approximately 35 percent, it becomes obvious how far we have come in solving the problem in a short period.

We will give new impetus and dynamics to our work on developing entrepreneurship, supporting the older generation, women, youth, people in need of social assistance, reducing poverty.

Naturally, we will not stop at achieved and will continue our reforms to create decent living conditions for the people.

Dear compatriots!

Ensuring quality education and upbringing, and public health are the most important issues on the solution of which our future development depends.

Over the past eight years, together with the private sector, we have increased the number of places in kindergartens to 2.5 million, coverage up to 78 percent. Through the construction of new and expansion of existing schools, an additional 1 million student places have been created.

Based on modern textbooks and advanced pedagogical technologies, school education is filled with even better content.

During this period, great strides have been made in higher education, enrollment increased from 9 to 42 percent. It is especially pleasing that 53 percent of the students are girls.

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 Foundation

El-Yurt Umidi.

We are all pleased that last year the youth of Uzbekistan took 1st place in Central Asia in terms of admission to the top 500 universities.

Of course, words cannot express the happiness of parents whose children are educated at the best universities in the world.

In this regard, I would like to especially note the important positive trend that has been observed in schools in our country since this year. Thus, three schools achieved 100 percent enrollment of graduates in higher educational institutions. This is a boarding school in the Karakul district, specialized boarding school No. 1 in the city of Navoi, a creative school named after Hamid Alimjan and Zulfiya in the city of Jizzakh.

Undoubtedly, this is a clear result of the implementation of the initiative “New Uzbekistan begins from the doorstep of the school.” I am convinced that he will definitely become an example for other schools in the country, the breath of the Third Renaissance will be felt even more strongly in all educational institutions.

In recent years, we have increased the amount of funds allocated for healthcare by 6 times, high-quality medical services have become available at the mahalla level.

Previously, people went to Tashkent to receive high-tech medical services. Now more than 400 types of such services are provided directly in regions and districts.

We attach great importance to the prevention of diseases and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the population.

As a result, the average life expectancy in the country has increased from 73.8 to 75.1 years.

For the further development of the fields of education and upbringing, healthcare, support for teachers and doctors, we are mobilizing all the necessary forces and means.

Dear friends!

The ideas and initiatives, energy and enthusiasm of our youth are increasingly felt today in many areas and industries. It turns the long-term dreams and aspirations of our people into reality.

The opportunities for the younger generation to master modern knowledge and professions, and carefully study foreign languages along with their native languages are expanding.

I am glad to see today at our celebration young men and women who achieve great success in industry, the service sector, agriculture, IT, science, culture and sports.

The national football team for the first time in the history of the country won a ticket to the World Cup, making our long-time dream come true.

The student youth of Uzbekistan at the International Summer Universiade for the first time entered the top 15 best teams among the participating representatives of 116 states and took 1st place in Central Asia.

On the eve of the Independence Day, our boxers in the age categories of 19 and 22 years old were awarded the high title of Asian champions and once again confirmed the glory of the Uzbek boxing school.

In order to educate a healthy and harmoniously developed generation, transforming Uzbekistan into a sports power, we built a unique Olympic town in Tashkent for promising young people athletes.

For the first time in the history of our country, a Football Academy has been created, providing modern education and knowledge.

I am confident that these complexes, which are the pearls of modern sports architecture, will become the launching pad for many thousands of our future champions.

Only this year at the prestigious international subject Olympiads are young people Uzbekistan won 2 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze medals. Among the CIS countries, our boys and girls took second place in chemistry, third in mathematics and economics, fourth in IT and geography, in them we see new Khorezmi, Beruni, Ibn Sino.

Such talented and purposeful youth, which are becoming more and more common among us, are the golden generation of New Uzbekistan, our pride.

In these unforgettable moments, I want to appeal to all the youth of Uzbekistan.

Our dear children, always remember:

Happiness comes only to those who are purposeful, victory comes only to those who fight!

The future is created by the brave, history is created by the winners.

Always strive forward!

The Motherland, the people, the President will always be a reliable support and support for you in your good endeavors.

Dear compatriots!

The new Uzbekistan is and will continue to be a legal state in which rights and freedoms, interests and dignity of a person are above all.

To ensure justice, we are actively working on the complete digitalization of court cases, reducing the human factor, and the widespread use of artificial intelligence. There will be no need to be present in the courthouse at meetings on economic and administrative cases - the parties will be able to participate in them online, openness and transparency will be ensured in the courts. In short, our country is on the threshold of the “age of digital and fair justice.”

Over the past three years, 70 percent of convicted persons were given non-custodial sentences. An acquittal was passed against 3 thousand citizens. An act of pardon has been applied to more than 3 thousand people serving their sentences and firmly on the path of correction.

The other day I signed a Decree on the return of another 523 such compatriots to their families.

All this is not a temporary campaign, but part of a continuous process at the level of state policy. We will take work in this area to a new level.

We will resolutely continue the fight against such vices as corruption, monopolization, bureaucracy, pomp, and challenges to the spiritual and moral life of society that negatively affect the development of the country and the well-being of the people.

Dear compatriots!

Everyone We are witnessing a tense geopolitical situation in the world. What should be the political course of Uzbekistan in such difficult times? What should we do to gain a worthy place in a rapidly changing world? Of course, such questions make each of our compatriots think.

Given the current ambiguous situation, we will continue to direct all our forces and capabilities to strengthen independence, peace, interethnic and interfaith harmony in the country.

Today, the voice of Uzbekistan sounds confidently in the regional and international arena. Our country has become one of the political centers of the world, where many authoritative summits and international forums are held. Such forums are a noble call from Uzbekistan to the peoples of the planet for peace and cooperation.

In this regard, I would like to once again emphasize our foreign policy position.

First of all, we will raise relations with the states of Central Asia to a qualitatively new level, strengthening in the spirit of centuries-old bonds of friendship and good neighborliness, strategic partnership and mutual trust.

We will further expand traditional, multifaceted and strategic partnerships relations with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

We will develop trade, economic, financial, investment and technological cooperation, strengthen multifaceted partnerships and practical ties with the USA, European countries and other developed countries.

We will pay special attention to the creation of transport and logistics corridors for mutually beneficial cooperation in new and promising directions with the countries of South Asia, the Near and Middle East, Africa.

Given that Afghanistan is an important factor in regional and global security, we consider it necessary to carry out constructive and practical cooperation with the government of this country.

We reaffirm our firm position: the people of Palestine have the right, approved by UN resolutions, to create their own independent state.

Our people and country always provide free assistance to innocent people who find themselves in difficult situations during wars and disasters.

Remaining committed to our traditions of humanism, we adopted a special Decree on providing the necessary social, material and moral assistance to Palestinian citizens who arrived in Uzbekistan as our guests.

I am confident that our noble and generous people, fully supporting the measures provided for in this Decree, will take an active part in their implementation.

The focus of our attention will always be close cooperation with authoritative international and regional organizations, financial institutions.

One of these days we will take part in another major forum - summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in China, as well as in a number of meetings and events within its framework.

In this regard, having celebrated the Independence Day today with you, with all our people, we plan to leave tomorrow to participate in this summit. Undoubtedly, its results will also serve to strengthen the role and position of New Uzbekistan on the world stage, achieving the strategic goals of our multi-vector foreign policy.

I take this opportunity to wholeheartedly express my sincere gratitude to the respected ambassadors of foreign countries and representatives of international organizations participating in our celebration for their effective cooperation.

Dear friends!

Despite the difficulties and trials, we will resolutely continue to deepen democratic reforms, strengthen national unity and cohesion, and will never deviate from the path of ensuring a decent life for our people. And we will definitely bring to completion the noble work we have begun, aimed at the future.

We, citizens of Uzbekistan, are one people, one country, one family.

We have a common destiny and future, happiness and achievements.

If we follow the life rule: the success of each of my compatriots - this is my success, his worries are my worries, then our successes will certainly increase, and our worries will decrease.

Unfortunately, there are many different threats and challenges in the world. But if we resist them, united as a single whole, we will definitely win.

If on the path to a noble goal we walk hand in hand, sincerely strive to achieve it, then we will definitely win.

I am confident that each of our compatriots, deeply aware of these urgent, acute demands of the time, will selflessly serve our beloved Motherland in its name prosperity.

On today's great holiday, from the bottom of my heart I express my sincere gratitude and bow deeply to our hardworking, generous people, to everyone who makes a worthy contribution to the construction of the New Uzbekistan.

Dear compatriots!

Once again from the bottom of my heart I congratulate you on Independence Day, I express my best wishes to all of you.

May the Almighty always protect our Motherland!

May every person, every family in our country live in peace and tranquility, happiness and prosperity!

Long live our dear Uzbekistan!

Long live the people of Uzbekistan!

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