As a result of practical conversations and discussions with the general public, representatives of the public and business circles, heads and experts of government agencies, as well as analysis of current legislation, information and analytical materials, recommendations and comments of national and international organizations, analysis of developed countries, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on February 7, 2017 there was adopted the Action Strategy for the five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017-2021

The main goal of the Action Strategy was to radically increase the effectiveness of reforms, create conditions for the comprehensive and rapid development of the state and society, modernize the country and liberalize all spheres of life.

The strong process of modernization in the state and society on the basis of the Action Strategy for the five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 has led to rapid growth in all areas. It has also received high recognition from the world community.

The action strategy has been implemented in five stages, with the adoption of State Programs for each year based on the names given to the years in our country.

In particular, when it comes to improving the system of state and society building, it should be noted that the introduction of the Institute of Appeals to Parliament by the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev became an important political process.

The system of governing bodies has been reformed and there was established as a priority to increase their efficiency, introduce modern market mechanisms of state regulation, reduce the number non-industry-specific tasks in government agencies, and introduce digital technologies in their activities.

It should be noted that the radical improvement of the quality of law-making activity is an important direction in improving the system of state and society building. Priority was given to the introduction of new, democratic forms of development and adoption of normative legal acts, the discussion of draft laws among the members of the public and experts, as well as the study of compliance of draft laws with international treaties and ratings.

Also, in accordance with the Law "On Parliamentary Oversight", in 2021, a total of 1,630 parliamentary inquiries were sent to officials of state bodies and economic management bodies to provide reasoned explanations or express their views on the current issues raised during the field studies conducted by deputies in the past, in appeals of citizens during their meetings with voters in the constituencies. In addition, during the sessions of the Legislative Chamber in 2018-2021, the heads of government and economic management bodies were heard a total of 76 times within their powers established by law and on issues related to their activities.

In recent years, the efficiency of using the institution of sending parliamentary inquiries to public and economic officials has also increased significantly. At the same time, the range of objects of parliamentary control has been expanded, and there have been covered also the activities of economic management bodies. Within the period from 1991 to 2016, the Legislative Chamber sent 6 inquiries, and from 2004 to 2016, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis sent 7 inquiries. In 2017-2021, this indicator reached 35 in the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, so the number of inquiries increased 5 times, and the number of inquiries from the Legislative Chamber reached 56, thus increasing almost 8-fold.

It should be noted that in recent years, in order to solve systemic problems in a timely manner and get acquainted with the state of affairs in this area, the institute of "government hour" was introduced to hear the answers of government members to questions of deputies. In particular, in 2018-2021, 30 "government hours" were held, during which 41 members of the government answered questions from deputies. Most importantly, the "Government Hour" events from 2021 were covered live on the official pages of the Legislative Chamber on YouTube and Facebook.

In this regard, it should be noted that since 2017, the Virtual and People's Receptions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan have been established. In 2017-2021, the President's Virtual Reception and the People's Reception considered more than 5 million 780 thousand appeals received, of which more than 3 million 288 thousand were satisfied. As a result of full, timely consideration of appeals in accordance with the law, the level of their satisfaction is also increasing year by year. In particular, this figure amounted to 47.5 percent in 2017, 53.9 percent in 2018, 60.9 percent in 2019, 60.4 percent in 2020, and 86.7 percent in 2021.

Today, radical changes in the areas of public administration reform, development of the organizational and legal framework of the civil service, improving the quality and efficiency of public services, implementation of public control mechanisms, strengthening the role of civil society institutions and the media are reflected in the life of our people

In ensuring the rule of law and further reforming the judicial system, special attention was paid to the transformation of the courts into a "fortress of justice", including the improvement of the operation of the Supreme Court. In particular, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Economic Court were merged, the work of the Supreme Court was improved, there was established, that the first term of office is five years, then ten years and after that - indefinite, and the institution of remanding a criminal case for further investigation was abolished. The period for reviewing a court decision in a civil case has been reduced from 3 to 1 year.

In order to appoint persons with life experience, there is established, that the age of the first-time nominees shall be at least 35 years. A mechanism for the selection of candidates for judges on a competitive basis has been introduced. Over the past period, the total number of judges has increased by almost 30 percent, resulting in a strengthening of the judiciary.

A judicial inspectorate has been set up to ensure the inviolability of judges and prevent corruption. Modern information and communication technologies are being applied to the judiciary.

In 2017-2021, important steps have been taken to protect human rights and interests. In particular, the system of "propiska", which has long been a painful problem for the population of the country, has been radically reformed. As a result of the simplification of the procedure for granting citizenship, more than 70,000 people were granted citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2018-2021.

In order to reduce bureaucratic barriers, a system of "green" and "red" corridors for individuals to enter and leave the customs territory has been introduced. Previously, when entering the Republic of Uzbekistan, a passenger used to spend an average of 2 hours to go through customs control, but now he can pass the border and customs control in an average of 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The Jaslyk penal colony, which had been a stigma for the country for many years, was closed down. The Head of state paid special attention to the prevention of torture, and in this regard, 5 decrees and 6 resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan were adopted in 2017-2021.

It should be noted that the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has established a system of amnesty. In 2017-2021, amnesty acts were applied to about 6,000 convicts serving their sentences.

The supervisory instance in the proceedings was terminated. The principle of "one court - one instance" was introduced in the judiciary through the abolition of red tape.

In the last 5 years, 3,513 people have been acquitted, and 743 people have been acquitted in 2021 alone. In addition, 18,026 persons were released from the courtroom and unjustified articles put against 33,515 citizens were removed from the charges or amended.

The Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been established. There is stipulated that the fight against corruption should be carried out in an institutional and systematic manner. There has been established the Committee on Judicial Issues and Combating Corruption in the chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In 2018-2021, 2 laws, 6 decrees and resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 16 resolutions of the Government were adopted to ensure gender equality, support women and increase their role in government and society. The Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Gender Equality has been established. The number of female senators increased by about 30 percent, and the number of women deputies increased by 50 percent.

The system of protection of the rights of business entities has been improved, and the institution of the Representative for the Protection of the Rights and Legal Interests of Entrepreneurs under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Business Ombudsman) has been introduced.

Over the past 5 years in the priority area on Economic Development and Liberalization of the Action Strategy, major economic reforms, such as ensuring macroeconomic stability, reducing inflation, reducing and simplification of the tax burden, diversification of the economy, creation of a business-friendly environment, improvement of infrastructure, agriculture, economic integration, development of digital economy were carried out at a rapid pace.

In particular, the reforms within the framework of the Action Strategy have created conditions for equal and free competition for all. The tax burden for businesses has been reduced due to the abolition of surcharges and the normalization of tax rates. At the same time, property, income and social tax rates were reduced by 2 times. Value added tax has been reduced from 20 percent to 15 percent.

In recent years, a wide path to entrepreneurship has been opened. Unscheduled and alternative inspections of business entities have been abolished, the number of procedures for providing public services for business registration, and the time required for registration have been reduced. Another important point is that scheduled inspections, as well as the issuance of licenses and permits for 42 types of activities have been abolished.

In turn, in the framework of the Action Strategy for 2017-2021, strategies for the development of leading industries (textiles, electrical engineering, automotive, building materials, chemical and petrochemical industries, agricultural machinery, energy) were adopted.

It should be noted that special economic and small industrial zones are increasing the efficiency of using the economic potential of the country and becoming a modern, convenient and effective way to develop entrepreneurship.

In recent years, such economic zones, which are actively organized in all regions of the country, have become a major "driver" in providing employment through the localization of imported products, increasing local export potential and creating new jobs.

Currently, there are 23 free economic zones in Uzbekistan. There are implemented 453 projects which have a total value of $ 2.6 billion and created about 36,000 jobs. Appropriate privileges and preferences have been provided to attract foreign investors to free economic zones. Privileges are granted depending on the volume of investment, with the application of income tax and single tax rates for the next 5 years at a rate 50% lower than the current rates:

when investing from USD 300,000 to 3 million USD - for a period of 3 years;

when investing from 3 million USD to 5 million USD – for a period of 5 years;

when investing from 5 million USD to 10 million USD – for a period of 7 years;

when investing over 10 million USD and higher – for a period of 10 years.

Appropriate infrastructure has also been created for the effective operation of small industrial zones specializing in leading industries. Currently, there are 348 small industrial zones. 1497 projects worth 5 trillion UZS were launched in small industrial zones and more than 36,000 people were employed. This indicates that our country has accumulated the necessary experience in establishing this system

Uzbekistan has developed its tourism infrastructure through radical reforms in the tourism sector. The number of international tourists increased from 2 million in 2016 to 6.7 million in 2019. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2019 Uzbekistan entered the top five countries with the best developing tourist destinations.

In 2016-2021, the number of local tourists will reach 24 million, while the number of foreigners will reach 20 million. It should be noted that due to the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences of the global crisis, in 2020 - 1.5 million, and in 2021 - 1.7 million foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan. However, in 2019, Uzbekistan was visited by about 7 million tourists.

One of the most important economic reforms aimed at liberalizing the economy and increasing the role of market mechanisms, which began in 2017, were practical steps to gradually liberalize the domestic foreign exchange market by introducing the principles of formation of the national exchange rate based on market mechanisms.

At the same time, large-scale reforms have been carried out in the field of monetary policy, including the development of payment systems, the purchase of foreign currency, the solution of the cash problem, and the introduction of automated ATMs.

According to statistics provided by the Central Bank, the total number of ATMs and information kiosks in the country is currently 11,572. In addition, in 2019-2021, the total number of currency exchange offices serving the population increased from 1,724 to 2,664, including the number of automated currency exchange offices operating in "24/7" mode from 722 to 1,306, and opportunity was created for convenient exchange of national currency into foreign currency.

Uzbekistan's fiscal policy has changed radically, in particular, ensuring budget transparency and openness, tax reforms to simplify and improve taxation, and a number of reforms aimed at reducing the share of the shadow economy.

Uzbekistan's foreign trade activity has undergone significant changes in 2017-2021 as a result of liberalization of foreign trade and effective use of the country's export potential. In particular, customs duties on all exported goods and services have been abolished, and the licensing and export system has been simplified. A "zero" level of customs duties has been set for more than 60% of goods. The customs duty rate was reduced to 6.45%.

Conditions have been created for further liberalization of foreign trade and increase in the range of exports of products that are in high demand on the world market. For example, in order to stimulate exports, the prepayment procedure for products has been abolished and a system of supplying products to foreign markets without a guarantee obligation has been created. The outdated licensing procedures have been abolished, and tax incentives for exporters have been expanded. The single period for calculating overdue receivables under export contracts has been extended to 120 days.

Consistent implementation of the priorities set out in the Action Strategy, further development of economic sectors and the results of structural reforms have ensured the sustainable, balanced development of the economy within the period of 2017-2019. In particular, there has been ensured stable growth of the country's economy at the level of 4.4% in 2017, 5.4% in 2018 and 5.7% in 2019.

In order to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis caused by the global pandemic, which began in 2020, economic measures have been taken to support the population, sectors of the economy and businesses (totalling more than $ 2.1 billion).

As a result, the economy continued to grow moderately (0.4%) in the first three quarters of 2020, with activity observed in most sectors of the economy from the IV-quarter onwards, and economic growth at the end of the year was 101.9%.

It should be noted that Uzbekistan became one of the few countries in Europe and Central Asia with economic growth in 2020 during the global pandemic.

In 2021, the country has taken measures to increase economic activity, and as a result of economic reforms, the GDP growth rate at the end of the year amounted to 107.4%. According to the World Bank's January 2022 forecast, Uzbekistan is expected to be the leading country in Europe and Central Asia with high economic growth in 2022-2023.

Over the past 5 years, the policy of Uzbekistan on the priorities of development of the social sphere has changed radically. In particular, a number of measures have been taken to improve the health care system. In particular, 1,373 rural medical centres were reduced and replaced by 793 rural family clinics, there are set up 441 ambulance stations and day-care hospitals. New specialized polyclinics and 1,200 ambulance stations have been set up in 306 city and district hospitals. Multidisciplinary medical centres in the regions are equipped with 14 fixed and mobile digital X-ray machines, 8 MRI (1.5 tesla), while the republican and 6 regional oncology institutions are equipped with 15 gamma therapy equipment of 2 types for $ 6.5 million

To further expand the network of preschool education institutions, strengthen their material and technical base and build new kindergartens, the Program of further improvement of preschool education in 2017-2021 and the Concept of preschool education development with the aim of increasing preschool education coverage to 80.8% by 2030 were approved.

As a result of the reforms, the coverage of children with preschool education has increased from 27.7% to 62.4%, and the number of preschool education facilities has increased from 5,211 to 19,316.

Presidential schools, schools for gifted children, creative schools and the Military Academic Lyceum “Temurbeklar Maktabi” have been established in the country. Based on the views of the general public and parents, 11-year compulsory school education has been restored in our country.

The concept of development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030 was approved in order to identify priorities for reforming the higher education system in the country, to raise the training process to a qualitatively new level, modernize higher education, develop social and economic sectors based on advanced educational technologies.

In 2017-2021, the number of higher education institutions has doubled, from 77 in 2016 to 141, and the quota for admission to higher education has been tripled and reached 28%. By 2022, this figure is expected to reach 38%. It is worth noting that additional opportunities have been created for young women to study, and special grants have been allocated for more than 3,000 girls.

Systemic reforms in Uzbekistan have eliminated many shortcomings in science and innovation, and as a result, according to the Global Innovation Index, the country's ranking has improved by 29 positions and ranked 93rd out of 131 countries.

In order to bring the state youth policy in Uzbekistan to a new level, to find solutions to problems in the field, to effectively organize and coordinate the activities of the competent authorities, a state body - the Agency for Youth Affairs was established in 2020.

In order to address issues related to youth, the Committee on Youth, Culture and Sports was established in the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, and the Commission on Youth Affairs was established in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis.

Over the past five years, 795 talented and dedicated sons and daughters of our country have won state awards. In particular, 142 young fellows were awarded the state award “Mard O’glon” ("Brave Boy"), 61 young people were awarded the medal "Kelajak Bunyodkori" (“Creator of future”) and 592 were awarded the badge “O’zbekiston belgisi” ("Badge of Uzbekistan").

Starting from 2021, the practice of awarding grants from the state budget to at least three winners in each district and city up to 200 times the basic calculation amount has been established in each district and city in the framework of the competition of youth start-up ideas "First Step to Business".

A new system aimed at ensuring youth employment and solving their problems - "Youth Notebook" and "Youth Programs" - has been introduced. A single electronic platform "yoshlardaftari.uz" has been launched, which will allow digitizing the system, ensuring the transparency of benefits provided to young people, monitoring the work carried out in the field in three stages.

It should be noted that in order to gradually increase employment and real incomes, “Monomarkaz” LLC was established to provide services to the unemployed. Today, 14 mono-centres "Welcome to Work", 30 vocational training centres, 11 short-term vocational training courses, 136 vocational training centres for population of mahallas are the result of reforms in the field.

Reforms worthy of universal recognition are also taking place in the priority areas of security, interethnic harmony and religious tolerance, as well as in the field of well-thought-out, mutually beneficial and practical foreign policy.

In particular, in order to further strengthen the country's defines potential, the regulatory framework of the industry has been improved, including the adoption of the Défense Doctrine of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The organizational structure, combat composition and readiness of the Armed Forces have been strengthened. The country's defines potential has been strengthened, with the share of contract servicemen increasing from 37% in 2016 to 68% by 2021, and the level of equipping the army with modern weapons has increased fivefold over the past period.

As a result of a completely new approach to ensuring religious tolerance, not only national policy, but also initiatives in this area in the international arena have been widely supported by the world community. In particular, in 2018, the International Religious Freedom Report removed Uzbekistan from the list of "countries of particular concern", and as a result of regular positive changes, Uzbekistan was excluded also from the list of "countries under special surveillance" in the field of religious freedom, starting from 2021, which is a recognition of democratic reforms.

Also, in recent years, approaches to the implementation of measures to combat religious extremism and terrorism in the country have been conceptually reconsidered. The main focus is on active prevention and awareness-raising among the population, and the efforts are based on the idea of "enlightenment against ignorance."

As a result of a well-thought-out policy to ensure interethnic harmony in the country, mutual understanding between citizens has been strengthened, mechanisms of interethnic and interfaith dialogue have been improved, and the legal and organizational framework for expanding civil liberties has been strengthened. In particular, the Committee on International Relations and Friendship with Foreign Countries was established under the Cabinet of Ministers and the Concept of State Policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of interethnic relations was approved in order to further increase the level of cooperation between government agencies and civil society institutions.

As a result of reforms in the field of interethnic harmony and concord in Uzbekistan, a new model of interethnic and interreligious relations has been created. By the end of 2021, the number of friendship societies reached 38 and the number of national cultural centres reached 150.

At the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan the exchanges of high-level visits with all countries of the region have been established in recent years. The strengthening of open and credible political dialogue between the leaders of Central Asian states has solved many of the complex problems that existed until 2016 in relations with neighbours in the region.

As a result of active negotiations with neighbouring countries in 2017-2021, the process of delimitation of the state border of the Republic of Uzbekistan has accelerated - by 2021, 95.5% of the total border, more than 99% of the Uzbek-Tajik border and more than 80% of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz state border has been delimited.

In addition, our relations with neighbouring countries in the trade, economic, industrial and production spheres are developing steadily. In particular, between 2017 and 2021, trade turnover with Central Asian countries grew by an average of more than 50% annually, and the total volume of regional trade exceeded $5 billion.

In addition, significant work has been done in the most important areas of foreign policy of Uzbekistan in recent years.

In particular, Shavkat Mirziyoyev for the first time addressed the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly as President of Uzbekistan. As a result of the initiatives put forward by the President at the sessions of the UN General Assembly - a meeting of Central Asian leaders, an international conference on Afghanistan were organized in Tashkent, UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on "Strengthening regional and international cooperation for peace, stability and sustainable development in Central Asia", the special resolution entitled "Enlightenment and Religious Tolerance", and there have been launched activities of Multilateral Trust Fund for Human Security in the Aral Sea Region under the auspices of the United Nations. Also, this year, the UN General Assembly adopted a special resolution declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovation and technology. This is clear evidence of the widespread international support for the initiatives put forward by Uzbekistan.

In addition, Uzbekistan promotes the peace process in Afghanistan through active promotion of the dialogue between the parties, actively supports and implements important economic and infrastructure projects that will help to restore the Afghan economy and involve the country in regional and international trade and economic relations. These include such activities as the Trans-Afghan Transport Corridor, the $100 million Surkhan-Puli Khumri electricity transmission line, the $75 million “Termez International Trade Centre”, the Student Training Centre in Termez, and the international humanitarian aid delivery for the Afghan people.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan's relations with many countries and state associations on different continents have reached a qualitatively new level. In particular, relations with partner countries in Russia, China, the United States, Turkey, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions have been significantly strengthened in almost all areas.

It should be noted that as Uzbekistan begins to accelerate its open foreign policy, the country has established cooperation with leading countries in Central in the such formats as Asia + Russian Federation, Central Asia + People's Republic of China, C5 + 1 (USA), Central Asia + Japan, Central Asia + Republic of Korea” and “Central Asia + European Union” and is actively involved in the development of various formats of regional dialogue. The emergence of such formats shows the growing importance and role of Central Asia in the architecture of international relations, global processes of political and economic interdependence, the formation of regional and international security systems.

As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, “We will continue to pursue our foreign policy based on the strategic tasks and priorities set out in the Concept of Foreign Policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. We are always committed to the path we have chosen, based on peace, aimed at resolving conflicts and contradictions only through peaceful, political means. "

In short, under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a great history is being created on the basis of the New Uzbekistan, which is being laid in our country with great intentions. There is no doubt that these universal results will serve to leave a worthy legacy for future generations.

Eldor TULYAKOV,
Development Strategy Centre
Executive Director