14 May 2024
Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Home, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Launch of Flights Between Almaty and Nukus

From 1 June, Uzbekistan Airways will begin operating regular flights between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Nukus, the main city of Uzbekistan’s north-western Karakalpak Autonomous Region.

Flights on a 174-seat A320 aircraft, will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In welcoming the move, the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan said that the new air route would greatly enhance the development of trade, economic and business cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The introduction of the flights will also benefit tourism, making it easier and quicker to visit the region’s renowned Savitsky Museum, home to one of the world’s best collections of Soviet art; the Muynak Ship Cemetery on the fast-disappearing Aral Sea, and the ancient city of Mizdakhan.

The total number of international flights from Kazakhstan now stands at 567 per week on 121 air routes, including direct flights to 28 countries.

 

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

14 May 2024
Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Environment, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Uzbekistan Set to Increase Coal Production

On 13 May, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reported on government plans to increase the country’s coal production.

The country’s coal reserves currently amount to almost 2 billion tons, and production continues to grow.

In 2023, Uzbekistan produced 6.550 million tons of coal compared to less than 4 million tons in 2016. The target this year, is to increase coal production to 8 million tons, and by 2025, up to 10 million tons.

As a result of an earlier drive by the government to attract investment in the industry from the private sector,  369 thousand tons of coal were produced in 2023 and this year, is expected to rise to 900 thousand tons.

Geological exploration is currently underway at new coal deposits in the regions of Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya and Tashkent, and according to the report, coal production in these areas should begin next year.

 

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

14 May 2024
Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Home, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Uzbekistan to Create IT Towns Across its Regions

On May 13, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev conducted a government meeting on measures to develop digital technologies and expand IT training for young people across the country.

In recent years, Uzbekistan’s IT sector has undergone rapid growth and compared to the 147 companies registered in 2017, the country now has close to 2,000.

The number of specialist employees has likewise increased and today some 30,000 people work in high-paid company jobs and a further 70,000 young people are independently engaged in the sector.

During the first quarter of this year alone, services in the sector increased by 20 percent, exports amounted to $200 million, and 5,000 new jobs were created.

Home to 80 percent of the country’s IT specialists, Tashkent represents the hub of Uzbekistan’s IT services and exports.

To redress the balance through the development of the IT sector further afield, the government now plans to create IT towns in fifteen of the country’s regions and in the city of Khanabad.

Once established, the IT towns will enable some 10,000 young people per year to study, free of charge, information technologies, foreign languages, and other professions in high demand.

Hailing the initiative, the president emphasized that the key aim of the IT towns is to “give young people wings and train them in professions fit for the modern world.”

 

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

14 May 2024

Image: podrobno.uz

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Home, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Up to 300,000 Uzbeks Labor Migrants Expected to Return Home

On May 10, an online meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Mirziyoyev on the issue of employment and mobilizing the internal capabilities of local industry. Mirziyoyev reiterated that the issue of employment and income of is of primary importance, and warned leaders at all levels that laxity in this regard will not be tolerated.

Mirziyoyev also touched upon the issue of labor migration: 58,000 labor migrants returned between January and March of this year, followed by another 57,000 in April alone. Up to 300,000 people are expected to return by the end of the year, and the importance of providing them with gainful employment and helping them with social issues was emphasized.

Officials were tasked with creating a single information platform on migration, helping compatriots working abroad who find themselves in difficult situations, and providing jobs for those returning.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

14 May 2024
Central Asia, Tajikistan Justice, Tajikistan International Affairs, Tajikistan Local Politics, International Affairs, Tajikistan, Local Politics

US Authorities Asked to Sanction Violators of Religious Freedoms in Tajikistan

In early May, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published its annual report on violations of religious freedom around the world. As a result of the report, the Commission called on the U.S. government to impose targeted sanctions against government agencies and officials in Tajikistan responsible for serious violations of religious freedom. This is reported by Radio Ozodi.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government organization created by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad.

USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. Its annual report describes and evaluates U.S. international religious freedom policy.

USCIRF criticizes the Tajik authorities for punishing oppositionists and critics of Emomali Rahmon’s government under the pretext of combating extremism, closing mosques due to failure to fulfill the plan to draft into the Armed Forces of Tajikistan, restricting the activities of certain Aga Khan-related facilities in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, banning the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.

The Commission emphasizes that the situation of religious freedom in Tajikistan, despite earlier recommendations, did not improve in 2023.

“In 2023, the government of Tajikistan continued to restrict the religious activities of citizens, including those living abroad,” the report states.

For this reason, the Commission recommended that the U.S. government impose targeted sanctions against government agencies and officials responsible for serious violations of religious freedom, freeze their assets, and bar them from entering the United States. A similar recommendation was announced last May.

USCIRF also called on the U.S. State Department to place Tajikistan, along with 16 other countries, on a “red” list of countries “of particular concern” because their governments commit or tolerate particularly serious violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. In addition to Tajikistan, the list includes Burma, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Vietnam and others.

The Tajik authorities have not yet responded to the report, but the Tajik Committee on Religious Affairs responded to Radio Ozodi’s request in January this year that it “considers the situation with religious freedom in the country to be good” and “not all the data in the reports correspond to reality”.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

14 May 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

The 2024 UN Asian Women’s Forum Begins in Samarkand

The United Nations’ annual Asian Women’s Forum began in Samarkand today, this year dedicated to the topic of “Women’s economic, social and political empowerment”.

The Forum brought together delegates from more than 30 countries, including female members of parliament from countries across Asia, heads of government, and senior female staff from 40 organizations.

In one session, a representative of the UN in Uzbekistan, Jeren Guven, praised the country’s recent efforts to ensure gender equality, commenting: “We are pleased to note the positive changes in Uzbekistan regarding gender equality and the expansion of women’s rights, which is an important step towards creating a more inclusive and equal society.”

However, another session addressed factors still preventing women from accessing quality education, science and digital technologies. It was reported that in 2022, 32.1% of women between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide were not in education, work, or vocational training. The corresponding figure for men was just 15.4%. This difference between the genders is still significantly higher in the countries of Central Asia.

According to Forum delegates, institutional barriers — including discrimination in the workplace, unequal distribution of unpaid care and household responsibilities, and lack of decent work opportunities — are among the factors preventing girls from transitioning from school to work.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia