Modernization of the country and fostering a solid civil society is our key priority

The Senate and Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan assembled for a joint session on January 27 in Tashkent.

At the joint session President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov delivered a speech entitled “Modernization of the country and fostering a solid civil society is our key priority”.

The President underlined, that parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan held on 27 December 2009 have demonstrated the high socio-political culture of the population, growing level of its political and civil self-consciousness, its broad support of our progressive advancement along the way of deepening reforming and modernizing the country.

The elections showed to what extent those decisions made on time were right and efficient, in particular, adoption of the Constitutional Law “On strengthening the role of political parties in the renewal and further democratization of state governance and modernization of the country”, as well as implemented measures to ensure so that the political parties, as they participate and prove in the elections their competence, become in practice the decisive force of deep transformations taking place in Uzbekistan.

President Islam Karimov has also evaluated the work of the Parliament for the period of 2005-2009. He noted that during this period the Parliament had adopted a whole package of legislative acts which envisage the consolidation of legal protection of private ownership, establishment of a powerful class of owners in the country, consolidation of farming, ensuring further liberalization of economy, creation of favorable conditions for development of small business and entrepreneurship, as well as establishment of a ramified market infrastructure.

The most important issues remained on the focus of attention in terms of continuous growth of population’s incomes and well being of the people, successful implementation of the large-scale social programs.

These and the whole number of other measures aimed at legislative support of economic reforms promoted creating the necessary legal maintenance of successful implementation of the Anti-crisis program of measures for 2009-2012 directed to minimize the negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis, allowed Uzbekistan, among other limited number of countries in the world, to provide for sustainable growth rates of economy and increase the real incomes of population.

As a confirmation of the aforementioned serve the growth of Uzbekistan’s GDP in 2009, a year which was not easy in all respects, made up 8,1 percent, industrial production – 9 percent, total amount of investments increased by 26 percent, including the foreign investments – by 68 percent, underlined the President.

It was also added that the positive balance in the foreign trade turnover made up more than 2,3 billion dollars, the growth of average salary made up 40 percent, and of the real incomes – 26,5 percent.

President Islam Karimov noted that the Parliament substantially contributed to the large-scale work being accomplished in the country to deeply reform and liberalize the judicial and legal system, ensure in practice the independence of judicial power. For over these five years 58 laws were adopted in accordance with which further reforming of the judicial-legal system has been carried out. The liberalization of the system of criminal punishment has been accomplished.

The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on abolishing the death penalty in the country starting from January 1, 2008, as well as the Law on delegating the right to issue an arrest warrant from prosecutor’s office to courts adopted in 2007 drew a wide response in the entire world. With introducing the said measures one of the most humane and liberal systems of criminal punishment in the world has been formed in Uzbekistan.

The President has outlined the priority tasks before the Parliament in further contributing to state and societal development.

His speech has also highlighted the issues of the country’s further economic development, ensuring peace and stability in the region. In particular, President Islam Karimov stressed that given the complex conditions stipulated by continuing global financial and economic crisis necessary measures should be taken to ensure further sustainable development of economy, continue the work on its diversification, modernization and technical re-equipment of production.

“In the tough geopolitical conditions unfolding in the region and the world as a whole, we will have to resolve the tasks of ensuring security, stability of the country, preserving peace in our land and the whole number of other responsible and large-scale tasks on successful accomplishment of which depend today and the future of our country and our children”, the President said.

In this context he drew attention to the issues of establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan suffering from military conflict going on for the past 30 years. “When the tense situation remains in one of the states of the region, naturally there is a threat to peace and security in the entire region, as well”, stressed Islam Karimov.

From the most authoritative international rostrums Uzbekistan put forward the practical initiatives on addressing this conflict. In particular, at the NATO/EAPC summit in Bucharest in April 2008 the President of Uzbekistan for the first time enunciated the view that the Afghan problem cannot be resolved only by military tools. In addressing the conflict in Afghanistan we have put forward the initiative to transform the Contact Group “6+2” into “6+3”, bearing in mind the participation in it of the U.S., Russia and representatives of NATO along with the countries neighboring on Afghanistan.

This initiative has generated a great interest of the international community.

The President stressed that billions and billions of dollars had been spent for over the thirty years to resolve the Afghan problem. Today it becomes obvious the need to radically change the approach to settling the situation in this country.

It is very important to ensure respect towards the national customs, culture and religious values of the multinational and multi-faith people of Afghanistan.

It should be noted that a number of the countries of the world, including those participated in the international conference on Afghanistan just held in London, are expressing the view about the impossibility of addressing the conflict in Afghanistan by military ways, which does confirm the rightness of Uzbekistan’s stance on this issue.

In order to establish peace and stability on the long-suffering Afghan soil the international community must, above all, render a targeted economic, financial, social and humanitarian assistance, which must be accomplished under auspices of the United Nations.

Today many states of the world render such assistance to Afghanistan. It is natural that the neighboring countries to a bigger extent are interested in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan as the closest neighbor also renders a substantial assistance to Afghanistan.

In particular, starting from 2010 the amount of electrical power supplied by us to Afghanistan increased to 6 times as compared with previous years.

These days the constructors and specialists of Uzbekistan are starting the work on laying the railroad line Termez-Khairaton-Mazari-Shareef. I am confident that it will be finished by the end of this year.

In a word, the Parliament also must make its own contribution to strengthening peace and stability in the region, the President said.

Outlining the priority directions of the future work of the Parliament President Islam Karimov put special importance on certain tasks.

In particular, the issues of further strengthening the role of parliament in socio-political life of the country must remain on the focus of our attention in line with the Constitutional principle of separation of powers.

Another important task of the Parliament, local representative bodies of power – Kengashes – is to conduct the strict parliamentary, deputy-led control of how the executive power, government in the center and hokimiyats (governor’s and mayor’s offices) at the local levels implement laws passed by parliament.

A special attention should be paid to the issues of implementation of the Anti-crisis program of measures for 2009-2012, entire complex of measures envisaged in it with regard to ensuring sustainable development of the socio-economic sphere and stability in the country.

The President also underscored that the most important task must be as follows: the parliament must become a conductor of democratic transformations, liberal reforms directed to establishing the strong civil society.
 

Information agency “Jahon”