10.03.2011 / read 345 times
On
February 16, a series of events dedicated to the efforts
of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the
sphere of political and economic reforms and liberalization of the legal
system, democratic transformation and the formation of civil society were
held at the State University of New York. The event was organized by
Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the United Nations and the Consulate General
of Uzbekistan in New York with the support of
the Center for Political Studies.
A roundtable,
under the title “Political reform in Uzbekistan: a strategically important
country in the region” that covered a
wide range of issues, discussed the nature and value of ongoing reforms in
Uzbekistan, adopted measures to build and develop the institutions of
civil society, the liberalization of the information sphere and the development
of mass media in Uzbekistan was organized for students, young intellectuals and
faculty members.
At the beginning of the event, Uzbekistan's permanent representative to the UN,
spoke to the participants and provided information on priorities of domestic
and foreign policy of Uzbekistan,
reforms to achieve economic progress within the conditions of post-crisis phase
of development in the global economy.
During his speech, special attention was paid to the initiatives of President
of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan and bring peace
and stability in the country through the establishment of a liaison group in
the format of the "6 +3" under UN auspices. Moreover, Uzbekistan's position on the management of
transboundary rivers in Central Asia and the mitigation of environmental catastrophe
in the Aral Sea was also voiced.
Furthermore,
a firm stance of Uzbekistanon the need for an independent international investigation and prosecution of
perpetrators of the tragic events that occurred in southern Kyrgyzstan, in June 2010 was brought
to the audience.
Professor
at the State University of New York, director of the Center for Global Publications
P. Morewedge has also presented his report at the roundtable. Thereat, he noted
the achievements of Uzbekistanduring 20 years of independent development in such areas as economics, banking
and financial sector, infrastructure, communications and logistics, the
liberalization of democracy and human rights, freedom and media development,
the importance of a bicameral parliament, the political parties and others.
P. Morewedge stressed that "Uzbekistan, due to conservative and
proven economic policies under the leadership of the President of Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov, has become one of the few countries that have successfully coped
with the global economic crisis and it demonstrates the strong GDP growth".
As further confirmation of the fact that Uzbekistanis confidently moving towards market reforms and modernization, he highlighted
the importance of the proclamation of the year of 2011 as “the Year of Small
Business and Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
Moreover, an interesting presentation was presented by Director of the Center
for Clean Technologies A. Koddermann, who demonstrated the consequences of the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe, the need for rational
use of water resources of the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya rivers and the
unacceptability of the construction of large hydroelectric plants and dams on
these rivers or their tributaries.
Besides,
the presentation of an investment and tourist potential, unique mineral and
recreational resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan was also
introduced during the event.
In this context, Uzbekistan's
Consul General in New York stood before the
representatives of the State University of New York and spoke in detail about
the economic achievements of Uzbekistansince independence, the country's current macroeconomic performance, favorable
conditions for attracting foreign investments and opportunities within free
industrial zone “Navoi”.
The
Consul General outlined the touristic attractiveness of Uzbekistan. He
provided information about tourism potentials of Uzbekistan, existing conditions for
a comfortable stay of foreign tourists and the development of the tourism
industry. Therein, consideration of a possible organization of study tours
to Uzbekistan for the
students and teaching staff of New
YorkUniversitywas suggested.
In addition, an independent expert D. Martin presented historical insights and
talked about the outstanding contribution of Uzbek scientists such as Ibn Sina,
Ulugbek, Al Khwarezmi and others in the global development of such sciences as
medicine, astronomy, algebra, geometry, and chemistry. He noted that
"the global scientific community owes much to fascinating discoveries and
achievements made by the Uzbek scientists in the Middle Ages".
