Uzbekistan Local Politics - The Times Of Central Asia

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Farmers in Uzbekistan to Receive 60,000 Hectares of Land

A February 12th meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev focused on the topic of increasing fruit and vegetable production and exports in Uzbekistan, and an additional 60,000 hectares of land will be given to the local farmers with this goal in mind. Government data indicate that an extra $200m can be made in exports on an additional 1.5 million tons of agricultural products from such a move. The meeting also underlined the significance of teaching young people how to farm and keeping them employed across the farms of Uzbekistan. It was also noted that an extra $1bn worth of goods could be produced by introducing industry and collaboration to the farmsteads and land plots that the local population is being awarded. Credit resources worth one trillion som will be allotted for this. These loans are provided for cooperating to produce goods, purchase machinery, and fund working capital up to 100 million sum ($8,100) without collateral, or up to 150 million sum ($12,100) with 50% loan collateral. Ten thousand machines will be leased to farmers and farm laborers for a total of 10 years, with an additional three-year grace period. The three-year customs privilege will be extended for mini tractors and imported/leased cultivators. At the meeting, further steps were taken to encourage the production of fruits and vegetables in greenhouses. Officials mandated a revision to the crediting system for greenhouse farms. Mirziyoyev assigned the task of constructing up to 200 compact greenhouses measuring 10 square meters each, which must be handed over to farmers for use, after endorsing the experience of constructing fuel-free, small greenhouses. Unsecured loans up to 100 million sum ($8,100) will be made available for those greenhouses under the Family Business farm-credit program.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Local Politics

Uzbekistan Tightens Requirements for Medicine Sales and Storage

Uzbekistan has adopted a law focused on the pharmaceutical industry, meaning that on July 1, 2024, the country will introduce the GVP (Good Pharmacovigilance Practice) standard already in place in the European Union (EU). GVP standards relate to monitoring the safety of, reducing the risks from, and increasing the benefits of medicines. It will therefore become mandatory for wholesale medicine distributors to have certificates of compliance in the pharmaceutical industry. The law for chain pharmacies will come into effect in 2025, and for all other pharmacies from 2026. The law also tightens the rules for storing medicines in warehouses. Changes are also expected in the advertising of medicines, and from now on, the decision regarding any medicine's advertisements on television will be made by the Ministry of Health. Tougher measures for the pharmaceutical industry are rooted in the scandal caused by deaths from the "Doc-1 Max" cough syrup in 2023. In Uzbekistan, 69 children died and 18 were left disabled as a result of taking the medicine. Uzbekistan ranks among the first in the world in the number of pharmacies per capita, most of which are small outlets on the first floors of residential buildings. The new law may lead to the closure of thousands of pharmacies which fail to meet the new standards, and is likely to lead to an increase in the price of medicines. Pharmacy operators are already subject to strict requirements regarding pharmacy equipment, staff qualifications, and drug storage. According to the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan, the number of pharmacies in the country reached almost 16,000 in 2022. The country's pharmaceutical market is growing at a rate of 8-10% per year, making it one of the fastest growing in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Uzbekistan also has eight research institutes and centers, and the only plant in Central Asian specializing in the production of insulin.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Local Politics

Indian Pharma Makes Changes After Cough Syrup Kills Uzbek Children

The deaths of several children in Uzbekistan caused by Marion Biotech's Dok-1 Max cough syrup have prompted the Indian government to make significant reforms in the pharmaceutical sector. In December 2022 the deaths of 18 children after taking Dok-1 Max were reported, but the cases didn't receive much publicity -- despite Marion Biotech then losing its license to sell that drug in March 2023. Sales of the syrup continued, and in August 2023 details emerged about 65 more child deaths from the same syrup. Local media reported that during the trial prosecutors said that officials had received a $33,000 bribe to not test the drug. As a result, 21 managers and employees of Quramax Medikal LLC, the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency and the Indian State Center for Expertise and Standardization of Medicines, Medical Devices and Medical Equipment were put on trial. The Indian Ministry of Health conducted inspections of all pharmaceutical plants in the country and, as it turned out, in addition to a lack of testing of incoming raw materials detected at 162 plants, less than 25% of the existing 8,500 small pharmaceutical plants meet the requirements of WHO international standards. India has introduced new standards in 2024 to which every company operating in the pharmaceutical industry will have to adhere. According to Tafsilar news agency, the new decrees gave large factories no more than six months to bring everything in line with international standards, while smaller factories were given a year.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Life & Culture Uzbekistan Business & Economy Uzbekistan Local Politics

Pilot Public-Private Partnership Project to Modernize Power Distribution System

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will help launch a project to rehabilitate, modernize and operate the outdated electricity distribution system in Samarkand using a public-private partnership. A local distribution system operator has been selected as the platform for the pilot project. Expansion of the project across the entire country is being considered in the future. The Uzbek economy is one of the most energy-intensive economies in the world. On average, it consumes three times more energy for the same unit of GDP than other European and Central Asian countries. Uzbekistan's outdated electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure leads to high losses across the power grid. Modernization and digitization of transmission and distribution systems will also enable the introduction of more green energy-generation capacity. This is especially relevant for renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, as flexible smart systems can more easily adapt to their variable output. Public-private partnership projects have in recent years become increasingly in demand in Uzbekistan. The plan is to implement such initiatives worth $14 billion by 2026. This will cover half of the country's investment needs. With the help of foreign investment, Uzbekistan intends to develop its transportation, energy, agriculture, and social-services infrastructure.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Justice Uzbekistan Local Politics

What types of crimes did the people of Uzbekistan commit in 2023?

Information on the types of criminal cases the courts considered in 2023 was provided by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan. According to the report, criminal courts considered 58,418 cases involving 73,797 individuals in 2023 - 1,244 people received rehabilitation and an acquittal, whilst a total of 55,763 people were found guilty; of these, 17,396 received prison sentences, 37,077 received other types of sentences, and 1,290 received conditional sentences. Of those found guilty, 49,297 men, 6,466 women, 20,922 young people (including 1,911 minors), and 2,123 people over the age of 6o. In addition, 7,362 people were freed from prison in connection with the imposition of non-custodial sentences; 33,612 people were released on parole; 12,286 people had their sentences remitted; and 13,522 people had the charges against them dropped because the preliminary investigation found the authorities had unfairly targeted them. The majority of cases during the reporting period involved fraud; other offenses included theft or robbery; the transfer, storage, and other activities related to narcotics, their analogues, or psychotropic substances; the preparation of documents, stamps, seals, forms, forgery, sale, or use of them; bullying; purposeful infliction of moderately severe bodily injury; and other offenses that fall under the category of bribery. In total, 14,698 people were freed from criminal responsibility as a result of the Reconciliation Institute's effective use, whilst 8,586 people received non-custodial sentences in exchange for making restitution for the material harm they caused. In the appeals process, 10,843 criminal cases involving 15,720 individuals were taken into account. The rulings rendered by the first-instance courts against 1,715 individuals were overturned, and the rulings made against 3,556 individuals were modified. The Criminal Trial Panel of the Supreme Court reviewed 5,130 criminal cases involving 5,855 individuals. Lower court rulings against 1,143 people were overturned, and rulings against 509 people were modified. Additionally, at the cassation instance, 402 criminal cases involving 467 individuals were reviewed multiple times. Court rulings against 121 people were modified, while rulings against 288 people were revoked.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Life & Culture Uzbekistan Local Politics

Tashkent To Introduce Cable Car To Help Resolve Transport Problem

The Tashkent municipality and Chinese company Beijing North Bartholet Ropeway Technology Co., Ltd. have agreed on a project to introduce a cable car service to help in solving the Uzbek capital’s transport and environmental problems, the press service of the Tashkent municipality said. The agreement was signed during the Tashkent mayor’s visit to the Chinese city of Shenzhen on January 23rd, where he met with the management of Beijing North Bartholet Ropeway Technology, a joint venture with the Swiss company Bartholet Maschinenbau AG, a world leader in ropeways production. According to the agreement, the Chinese company is going to invest in a project to duplicate ground municipal transport in Tashkent with cable taxis. The project will first be presented to the public, whose recommendations and suggestions would be taken into account by the Chinese company’s designers, the municipality said. The Uzbek Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change earlier this month stated that emissions from motor vehicles largely the cause for increasing levels of air pollution in Tashkent. On average 730,000 vehicles are on the move in Tashkent every day, with between 160,000 to 300,000 entering the capital from the regions. To resolve the problem, the Tashkent municipality intends to develop green public transport.