Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov at the 29th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council
(December 1-2, 2022, Lodz)
Dear Mr. Chairman!
Your Excellencies, Heads of delegations, ladies and gentlemen!
I join the words of gratitude to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, H.E. Mr. Zbigniew Rau, for the warm hospitality and excellent organization of our meeting.
We are pleased to note the growing dynamics of interaction between Uzbekistan and the OSCE and its institutions in all three dimensions.
During the visits to our country this year of the Chairman-in-Office H.E. Mr.Rau, the High Commissioner on National Minorities Mr. Abdrakhmanov and the OSCE Secretary General H.E. Ms. Schmid and the meetings held at the highest level,the mutual readiness of the parties to further develop multifaceted cooperation between Uzbekistan and the OSCE for security and sustainable development of our country was highlighted.
We stand for continued joint work and a balanced increase in the number of projects in demand across all three dimensions.
Dear meeting participants!
The New Uzbekistan has chosen the path of large-scale and dynamic reforms aimed at deep democratic transformations in all spheres of the country's life.
The goals and objectives of the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy for 2022-2026 adopted this year fully reflect the principles of the OSCE. The main idea of this important concept document is to ensure the consistency and continuity of our reforms.
We intend to resolutely protect the human rights and dignity, ensure the openness of the media, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, freedom of religion, and fight corruption.
We are determined to expand and deepen cooperation with the OSCE in these areas.
We are going through the process of preparation for the most important political event in our modern history - the constitutional reform.
The initiated process of constitutional reform is aimed at creating a solid legal basis for implementation of the long-term strategies for developing New Uzbekistan and ensuring the irreversibility of democratic reforms.
The draft Constitution has been submitted for public discussion and will be adopted by a referendum.
Dear friends!
Today, a completely new atmosphere of mutual trust has been established in Central Asia.
Many barriers have been removed, conditions for the free movement of citizens have been created, a favorable environment for the growth of mutual trade and investment, strengthening of regional interconnectivity, security and sustainable socio-economic development has been created.
Environmental issues remain of particular relevance in Central Asia.
The pace of climate change in our region is twice the global average.
We invite the OSCE to take an active part in the mitigation of the consequences of the environmental catastrophe of the Aral Sea and the implementation of the socio-economic projects and programs in the Aral Sea region.
We invite our partners to the First High Level Forum on the Aral Sea in Nukus next year.
The EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference which held on November 17-18, 2022 in Samarkand had historical importance for ensuring the sustainable development of the countries of the region.
It was emphasized that there is an opportunity for interaction between the EU and the OSCE in the implementation of project activities in the region.
We highly appreciate the European initiative “Europe Team”, where a number of projects are planned to be implemented in such key areas as the effective management of water and energy resources, overcoming environmental challenges, as well as strengthening the digital connectivity of the Central Asian region.
Ladies and gentlemen!
The prospects for sustainable development and the security of our region are inextricably linked with ensuring peace in Afghanistan.
We consider it extremely important to prevent the isolation of Afghanistan.
The International Conference on Afghanistan held on July 26 in Tashkent demonstrated the interest of the world community in assisting the Afghan people in restoring peaceful life.
In our opinion, the priority tasks of the international community should be preventing humanitarian catastrophe, restoring the economy and integrating Afghanistan into regional trade and economic ties, and implementing significant infrastructure and social projects in this country.
The implementation of a strategically important project - the creation of a railway corridor Termez - Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar - will open up great opportunities for strengthening the interconnectivity between Central and South Asia, involving Afghanistan in economic cooperation and turning it into a bridge connecting these two regions.
We believe that the implementation of the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan to establish the international negotiating group under the UN auspices will create an extremely necessary platform for developing and agreeing with the Afghan authorities the algorithm for the phased fulfillment of their obligations demanded by the international community.
Uzbekistan is making a significant contribution to the socio-economic recovery and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
We invite our OSCE partners to use the International Transport and Logistics Hub in Termez to provide humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering Afghan people.
We also urge you to support the creation of the Educational Cluster to train specialists for the Afghan economy in Termez.
Dear colleagues!
Today, the OSCE is going through difficult times. We witness a decrease in the level of trust between the participating States. Conflict situations have become more frequent.
Under these conditions, a dialogue free of geopolitical rivalry and ideological contradictions, as well as the joint search for solutions to all the complex problems that the participating States face, is extremely required and should remain the cornerstone of the OSCE agenda.
In this regard, the "Samarkand initiative of solidarity for the sake of common security and prosperity" put forward by the President of Uzbekistan is designed to unite the efforts of the states and peoples of the world to mitigate existing contradictions and disagreements by building up cultural, civilizational, interethnic, interreligious interaction.
We call on our partners to support this initiative.
Dear meeting participants!
In conclusion, let me once again express my gratitude to the Polish Chairmanship for the worthy performance of its duties and wish success to North Macedonia, which will take over the Chairmanship next year.
Thank you for attention.
Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan
