President awards Hero of Uzbekistan titles. 1
President of Uzbekistan orders to award medalists of Rio Games. 1
International cooperation: ENERGETICS. 1
Multiplying Scientific Potential 2
Uzbekistan the Land of Opportunities. 4
POLItiCs
President awards Hero of Uzbekistan titles
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a decree on 23 August on awarding the title O‘zbekiston Qahramoni (Hero of Uzbekistan) and the Golden Star medal to four persons.
The awards have been issued for the significant achievements before the state and the people in strengthening independence of Uzbekistan, its international image, deepening reforms, self-sacrificing work and contributing to upbringing the young generation in the spirit of patriotism and devotion to the country’s people.
The new bearers of the Hero of Uzbekistan title are:
Ravshanbek Kurbanov – director of “Republican specialized cardiology centre” joint-stock company.
Sharipboy Rajabov – Head of Bogot farm of Bogot district of Khorezm region.
Erkin Ummatov – deputy head of the capital construction department of Uzbekiston temir yo’llari (Uzbekistan railways) joint-stock company- head of construction of the Angren-Pap electrified railway line.
Muhabbat Sharapova – teacher of mathematics at the specialiased boarding school #2 in Karshi, Kashkadarya region.
(Source: UzA)
President of Uzbekistan orders to award medalists of Rio Games
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed an order “On awarding medal winners of the 31st Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Uzbek leader approved the sizes of remunerations for the medal winners of the Rio Games.
According to the order, gold medalists of Olympic Ruslan Nurudinov (weightlifting), Hasanboy Dusmatov, Shakhobidin Zoirov and Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (boxing) will receive lump sum remuneration at the size of US$200,000 each.
Silver medalists will receive remuneration at the size of US$100,000 each. Boxers Shakhram Giyasov and Bektemr Melikuziev won silver medals at Rio Games.
The order said that the bronze medalists will receive US$75,000 each as remuneration. Murodjon Ahmadaliev, Rustam Tulyaganov (boxing), Rishod Sobirov, Diyorbek Urozboev (judo), Elmurat Tasmuradov (Greco-Roman wrestling), Ikhtiyor Navruzov and Magomed Ibragimov (wrestling) won bronze medals of the Olympic Games.
The document said that remunerations will be transferred in US dollars to deposit at the National Bank of Uzbekistan for Foreign Economic Activity. No taxes will be levied from remunerations.
International cooperation: ENERGETICS
Saving Wisely
South Korea’s KT Corporation and Uzbekenergo are getting prepared to launch a pilot project on the introduction of automated electricity metering control system (AEMCS) in three regions of Uzbekistan late August.
In the next few years, Uzbekistan intends to install nearly 6 million meters throughout the country, as well as create a unified billing system and a consumer data base through the loan funds of the Asian, World and the Islamic Development Banks. The total cost of the project exceeds $800 million.
In particular, the Asian Development Bank allocated $150 million for the Uzbek side for the installation of 1 million electricity meters in three regions of the country – Bukhara, Jizzakh and Samarkand. The project’s total cost exceeds $200 million.
The South Korean company has won the tender for the installation of advanced meters in the abovementioned regions. After long consultations, the parties selected the Chinese company Shendzhen Kaifa as the main producer of meters, as it meets all the technical specifications requested by the Uzbek side.
In late August, the Chinese company will start supplies of metering equipment to Uzbekistan. It is planned to deliver about 25,000 items. They will be distributed in the three pilot areas – Karaulbazar, Yangiabad and Pastdargom districts. Their installation will be completed in September, and the first results of operation in Uzbekistan are expected in late November.
The first-ever pilot project on the introduction of AEMCS is currently implemented by Uzbekenergo on the territory of Bektemir district of Tashkent. Advanced meters have been installed in 10,400 customers.
The project implementation has proved the effectiveness of the new system. For example, about 4.5 million soums (currency rates of CB RU from 24.08.2016, 1$= 2984.45 soums) of electricity payments were collected daily prior to the introduction of AEMCS, and more than 12 million soums – after. Moreover, the number of debtors has decreased from 6,111 to 1,478, and the debt itself decreased by several times to 441 million soums. There is another important fact: electricity transportation losses decreased from 9.3% to 2%.
There is a reason behind the attention to energy saving. Over the past 15 years, the Uzbek population has increased electricity consumption by 35%. For example, in 2000 the average monthly consumption per one family was 114 kW/hour, while by 2015 it had reached 160 kW / hour. In 1990, the share of the population in the total consumption of electricity was 10.3%, by 2000 the indicator grew to 13.9%, and by 2015 – to 25.2%.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
Society
Multiplying Scientific Potential
Shavkat Solikhov, Member of the Oliy Majlis Senate, President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan:
“Since the first days of the country’s independence the national science had received a powerful impulse for advancement, for supporting the leading academic schools, shaping decent young scientific generation and improving the structure and material-technical basis of the national science.
“More than 60 normative and legal acts have been adopted in this sphere during the past period. They are aimed at improving the organizational structure, financing and implementation of academic research, and developing the promising direction of academic science. The Academy of Sciences had chosen the road of consistent structural transformations and consistent structural transformations and consolidation of relations between science, higher education and production, as well as development of international cooperation.
“In the course of reforms we have shifted to financing individual scientific projects on the basis of providing competitive grants in compliance with the government scientific-technical programs. Budgetary resources for conducting fundamental and applied research have been allocated directly to research establishments. We have radically reorganized the scientific establishments, which promoted an increased efficiency of the Academy’s activities, concentration of its potential on the most priority directions of research work, activation of innovative developments and integration of the academic science with the system of higher education and production.
“The Khorezm Academy of Ma’mun was re-created in Khiva; eight new research institutions and two museums – the State Museum of Timurids’ History and the Museum of Repression Victims’ Memory – have been set up within the structure of the Academy of Sciences.”
“The academic science has been increasingly focused on the implementation of innovative developments; have been established the innovation-oriented research institutions of a new type. These include the Center of high technology in Tashkent with the participation of the Cambridge University (UK), the International Institute of solar energy set up on the basis of the Physics and Technical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank.
“Uzbekistan has introduced a progressive system for training scientific personnel and shifted to a single-stage system of bringing up and certification of doctors of sciences. This has contributed to the accelerated training of highly-qualified scientific personnel, particularly those from among young and talented scientists, and continuity in the work of leading scientific schools.
“Today the scientists of our country conduct relevant studies and research work within the framework of the government scientific-technical and innovative programs, take part in the solution of urgent tasks of socio-economic and scientific-technical development. For example, for the first time in the history of our country the researchers of the Maydanak alpine observatory had discovered a new minor plant in the Solar system in 2007, and it was given the name of Samarkand.
“A new regularity recognized in the scientific world was opened in the field of supra-molecular chemistry, which establishes dependency between certain class substances’ structure and conditions of their formation. The results provide an opportunity to construct new substances with predetermined properties for practical application in various sectors of economy and industries.
“The Institute of Plant Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences prepared and the ”Springer” publishing house released the first ten volume “Natural Chemical Compounds” scientific reference guide in English, to become the first encyclopedia in the field of Plant Chemistry.
“The greatest scientific achievement in the cotton industry of the country was the creation of unique transgenic varieties of cotton, which has an extensive root system, a wide range of economically useful traits such as high yielding capacity, long and high quality fibers, precocity, salt tolerance and others. These varieties were developed for the first time with the help of gene-knockout technology and are patented in 140 countries of the world.
“More than 30 new original domestic drugs have been created on the basis of local raw materials. The formation and placement of deposits of gold, copper, platinum group metals, tungsten, and other rare metals have been substantiated with the objective of development of mineral resource base.
“The fundamentals of conservation of biodiversity, including those for the area of the Aral Sea, have been elaborated for the fauna and flora of the Republic. Centers of ancient civilization had been discovered on the territory of Uzbekistan (‘Obirahmat’ grotto), where were found the oldest remains of modern man, which became the Discovery of the Year. They showed that in Uzbekistan had taken place the processes of formation of modern type human beings similar to those in Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, ancient China and other regions of the world.
“For the first time in the history of national science was prepared and published the fundamental monograph “The History of Uzbekistan’s statehood”, a collective monograph “Essays on the modern history of Uzbekistan” and a number of textbooks on history. More than 30 fundamental monographs have come off the press, including the Uzbek language thesaurus in five volumes, a brief glossary of works of the Uzbek classical literature and others designed for a wide range of users.
“Significant progress has been made in the development and use of renewable energy sources, helio-materials studies and instrument-making industry and many other fields. The research work conducted by the scientists of our country serves the basis for the further modernization of Uzbekistan’s economy, for revival and preservation of unique national values, improving the well-being of people, brining up harmoniously developed generation of young people capable to multiply the rich intellectual and scientific potential of our nation.”
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
Tourism
Uzbekistan the Land of Opportunities
Uzbekistan is visited by over 2 million foreign tourists annually. Our attractions are most popular among citizens of Germany, France, Italy, Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Russia, and India. Experts anticipate that in the near future the number of guests will increase by several times, and their geography will expand.
Trying with Interest
Why did you choose Uzbekistan? Our survey among foreign visitors in different parts of the country found the two most common responses. Most often they refer to peaceful, tranquil and stable environment that predisposes to a safe rest. Almost same much they call Uzbekistan a relatively new and little-investigated tourist product with a huge variety of interesting things to see and try.
Uzbekistan is home to more than 7,000 objects of the material cultural heritage of different epochs and civilizations. They include the historical centers of Bukhara, Khiva, Samarkand and Shakhrisabz as part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. World-renowned historical monuments, modern cities, the unique nature of Uzbekistan, national cuisine, as well as the kindness and hospitality of the Uzbek people attract the travelers.
Membership in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has been contributing to the active development of tourism in Uzbekistan. In the framework of this cooperation, 19 countries adopted the Samarkand Declaration on Silk Road Tourism in 1994. The Khiva Declaration on tourism and preservation of cultural heritage was supported by
UNWTO, UNESCO and the Council of Europe in 1999. In 2002, they adopted the Bukhara Declaration on Silk Road Tourism, which emphasizes the benefits of sustainable tourism and identifies specific steps to promote the cultural and ecological tourism in this area.
UNWTO opened its regional office in Samarkand in 2004 to coordinate the development of tourism along the Silk Road. It runs its offices only in two countries – Japan and Uzbekistan. Its major mission is to define development vectors not just for regional, but also for the international tourism.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has been developing new types of tourism. For example, a medical tourism department has been recently launched in the structure of the Ministry of Health. The outbound tourism that involves the treatment of Uzbek people in other countries is promoted concurrently with the inbound tourism, when foreigners are treated in Uzbek clinics. The flow of tourists pursuing medical purposes to Uzbekistan from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and other countries has significantly increased. The dental tours, which are usually combined with entertaining and introductory events, are the most striking manifestation of inbound tourism. More than a thousand of dental clinics in Uzbekistan provide prompt and quality service for patients. This service is second only to the therapeutic one in the number of applications.
Leadership is Key
Today, tourism has a significant share in the gross domestic product in many countries. Uzbekistan has just embarked on making it like that, by building the necessary infrastructure. The National Company Uzbektourism acts as a state regulator of the sector. In addition, there are 1,176 tourism organizations, including 621 tour operators, 555 hotel economies. An extensive network of hotels numbering a total of over 25,000 beds meets international standards.
Twenty-five years ago the country was challenged by problems with staff, which are gradually being addressed.
There are five higher educational institutions that specialize in staff training for this sector: Samarkand Institute of Economics and Service, the Tashkent State Economic University, Bukhara and Urgench State Universities, and Singapore Institute of Management Development in Tashkent. Every year, more than 500 graduates of this specialization receive a Bachelor’s Degree, and more than 40 get Master’s. 12 vocational colleges graduate more than 3.500 related specialists. They now play a key role in the development of infrastructure and promotion of new tourism products in the world markets.
For example, largely owing to the graduates of the Samarkand Institute of Economics and Service, the traditional tours to the Samarkand monuments were replenished with the offers that turned into the spotlight of many tours. In particular, the guests are offered event tourism, or an imaginative journey through the time. They are invited into a historical madrassah for a costume interactive show.
All the above-mentioned transformations can now be followed at international tourism exhibitions. The Tashkent International Tourism Fair ‘Tourism on the Silk Road’ ranks among the most important annual events. It is the largest forum in Central Asia, a venue for industry professionals, negotiations in different formats, including business-to-business, a platform for implementation of the Hosted Buyers program for customers of the national tourism product, conferences on relevant issues of development of the tourism industry in Uzbekistan and the world in general. Representatives of Uzbekistan regularly participate in foreign international fairs and exhibitions in order to present the tourism capacity of the republic. Such an involvement allows staying abreast of the latest trends on the global tourism market, entering into business contracts and developing cooperation with foreign partners.
The Path to the Unexplored
The scaled changes that have been taking place over the past 25 years have promoted traveling. 11 airports received the status of international harbors. Comfortable aircrafts of the Uzbekistan Airways National Airline perform regular flights to over 40 cities in Europe, Asia, Middle East and America. On the threshold of the Independence Day the country’s civil aviation fleet will be replenished with the advanced Boeing Dreamliner.
The guests of Uzbekistan have the opportunity to get to the country’s attractions also by rail. Along with the usual trains, high speed trains by the Spanish Talgo run between Tashkent, Samarkand and Karshi, thereby significantly increasing the quality of guest service and reducing travel time. In June 2016, the world witnessed another breakthrough in the development of tourism and transport industry of Uzbekistan: the republic launched the electrified railway line Angren-Pap, which connected the picturesque Fergana valley with the rest of the country.
Construction and repair works are underway under the Tourism Development Program for 2016 – 2019, which provides for the reconstruction and repair of access roads to historical monuments and tourist areas. The road to the architectural ensemble of Bahauddin Naqshbandi in Bukhara was restored. Specialists have embarked on the repair of access roads to the historical monuments in Khiva with a total length of 13 km. The restoration of roads adjacent to the Al-Termezi mausoleum in Surkhandarya region is nearing its completion.
Despite significant progress, experts still point out to the need for further development of tourism infrastructure. Tourist routes of most foreign guests include four places: Tashkent as the gateway to the country and the links with more than 40 countries, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khorezm. At the same time, it was noticed that during the trip the foreigners spend the bulk of their time in Bukhara because of the high concentration of landmarks and tourist facilities. Meanwhile, tourists stay in Khiva no longer than a day, though it is as rich in monuments as Bukhara.
To remedy the situation, the Khiva authorities are currently actively building modern hotels. Some of them are located on the territory of the museum under the open sky of Ichan-Kala, the others are situated beyond it. Tourists need a choice for an interesting pastime. The need has entailed the development of gastronomic tourism: local restaurants serve the native Khorezm cuisine, offering guests active forms of tourism. There are now tourist centers around the water reserve not far from the Ichan-Kala, where travelers are offer boating, hunting, fishing, and a walk in the apple orchard, which grows on the rocks. The guests are even offered some of the agricultural tourism. The representatives of the local branch of the Uzbektourism Agency told how much delighted the foreigners were at the opportunity of collecting cotton.
Meanwhile, there are still numerous places in the country that are not equipped for tourism, though their number is decreasing. For example, the Sentob village in Nurota district of Navoi region was arranged a few years ago. The number of visitors to the unique Chashma spring with a well shaped as a human hand, and a unique glow that can be seen there early in the morning, has increased with the construction of a modern hotel, restaurants, landscaped neighborhood.
Tourism infrastructure has been evolving in Karakalpakstan too, which will soon be as popular as Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva. The Beruni and Ellikkala districts with their archaeological sites are of great interest for those who what to explore the ancient civilization. However, due to poor infrastructure, these places were virtually unexplored.
Today, the situation is changing: the Beruni district is currently under a large-scale reconstruction. The tourist pilgrimage sites are being landscaped. Yurt tourist camps have been established near monuments in the neighboring Ellikkala district. Access roads are currently being repaired there.
Promising Destinations
In recent years, Uzbekistan has been actively introducing new types of travels, including ecotourism. The availability of in reserves, national parks, nurseries, nature reserves, natural monuments, and biosphere reserves makes ecotourism very promising. The gastronomic trend has been gaining popularity too: its development has made the pilau and other national dishes a recognized brand.
The construction of recreation areas and comfortable infrastructure facilities has been in progress in the regions. For example, the recreation centers Chimgan, Beldersay and Charvak in Tashkent region provide good conditions for skiing and other winter sports. They offer the mountain trails of different types from 300 to 3,000 meters.
Travel agencies offer tours to every taste. The extreme tours in the mountains and deserts of the country for real adventurers have been getting popular: camel rides in deserts and steppes, hiking tracks around the Big Chimgan, a fascinating route along the Aydarkul Lake called ‘Sailing’, ‘A fishing tour for rainbow trout’, and much more.
There are almost untouched huge reserves for tourism development. In recent years, experts of the Research Institute of Mineral Resources have been actively developing the geotourism. The scientific research has revealed the truly enormous opportunities.
The number of geoparks based on natural geological monuments has been growing worldwide. Their network has been expanding with the support of the authoritative international organizations like UNESCO, the International Union of Geological Sciences, the International Geographical Union, and others. The parks ensure the protection of geological objects from the negative impact of various factors, and the need for the development of the tourism infrastructure provides employment for local people living, promoting their well-being.
The eastern chink of Ustyurt on the western shore of the Aral Sea is an extraordinary object. It is experiencing the destruction processes due to the geological structure of the plateau itself, and due to the hydro-geological, gravity and other processes.
The southwest Hissar with the areas of undisturbed primary layers of bedding, which is rare in young and growing infolded (mountainous) areas is another promising area for the establishment of a geopark.
The upper streams of the Pskem are a third promising area. At this site, the tourists will get acquainted with the processes that shape the geomorphological appearance of the area.
The further development of the idea on creation of geoparks in Uzbekistan requires a fruitful synergy of researchers, legislators, builders, representatives of many professions who are capable of making unique natural sites attractive for tourists, as well as for a wide range of specialists.
So – welcome to Uzbekistan! If you still haven’t decided where to go, stay tuned, and be sure to find something amazing for yourself.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
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