The President of Uzbekistan puts forward initiatives in support of developing countries

On January 12, 2023, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the plenary session of the Voice of the Global South Summit, held online under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi.

The event, organized under the India G20 Presidency, was also attended by the President of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the President of the Republic of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of the Republic of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi, the President of the Republic of Senegal Macky Sall, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen and Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea James Marape.

In accordance with the agenda, issues of human-centered sustainable development were discussed, views and concrete proposals were exchanged on deepening mutually beneficial cooperation to promote the interests and solve pressing problems of developing countries, including in the economy, ecology, energy and food security, healthcare, human resource development, innovation, tourism, and other areas.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his speech, assessed the current trends in the development of the international situation and shared his vision of the priority tasks facing developing countries.

 “Today, the world community is facing the negative consequences of various contradictions and conflicts, the economic crisis. We are witnessing a reduction in open dialogue and mutual trust in international relations”, the Leader of Uzbekistan noted.

As the Head of Uzbekistan emphasized, the coronavirus pandemic, the problems of food and energy security, and the environment have a negative impact on the prospects for global development.

The active role and place of India in strengthening mutually beneficial and productive relations with developing countries was noted.

In this context, it was stated that in recent years, the strategic partnership and practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and India have reached a qualitatively new level and today serve the common interests of our people.

The President emphasized that in Uzbekistan the most important goal and task of the ongoing policy of irreversible reforms are to ensure human interests.

 “The essence of our Reform Strategy is the rule of law and the development of human capital, building a fair and strong civil society. We are faced with a big task to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth shortly, to halve the level of poverty in the country”, the Head of state noted.

Expressing support for India’s chairmanship of the G20, the President of Uzbekistan put forward several practical proposals on the agenda of the event.

First of all, the need for further improving the international trade system, which should take into account the Voice of the Global South, was noted.

It is necessary to create conditions for realizing the potential of developing countries, which still face various obstacles and restrictions when entering new markets.

The expediency of including in the agenda of the world summit the issues of ensuring energy and food security, the formation of a global logistics network and value chains, and the promotion of attracting investment and advanced technologies to developing countries was noted.

Another strategic issue is the promotion, within the framework of the international North-South corridor, of a project to build a railway through Afghanistan with access to the Indian Ocean, aimed at strengthening the connectivity between Central and South Asia. The Leader of Uzbekistan invited partners to take an active part in this important project.

The analysis also shows that in the context of the transition to a green economy between developed and developing countries, the technological gap is increasing. In this regard, it was proposed to create an information bank of green technologies and innovations for the Global South with the support of the leading countries of the world.

Another current issue is the development of human capital and improving the quality of vocational education.

“We must widely involve our talented youth in the development of national and international programs in climate change, rational use of water resources, alternative energy, digitalization and other priority areas”, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.

Based on this, an initiative was put forward to create a permanent dialogue platform “Voice of the South Youth”.

The Head of state called for support for the proposal promoted by Uzbekistan to establish an International Negotiating Group on Afghanistan to ensure global peace and security.

Confidence was expressed that the proposals and initiatives developed at the summit will serve to promote the interests of developing countries and achieve Human-Oriented Sustainable Development Goals.

Following the speech, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan sincerely congratulated the friendly people of India on the upcoming national holiday of the country – Republic Day.

UzA