INFORMATION DIGEST OF PRESS OF UZBEKISTAN # 19

January 26, 2017

POLITICS
Representatives of national cultural centers received high awards of the state

INVESTMENTS
Uzbekiston Temir Yullari will build a new plant for excavator and tracked vehicle maintenance in Sirdarya

EXPORT
An independent international laboratory for yarn quality inspection has opened in Tashkent

INFRASTRUCTURE
A program approved in Uzbekistan envisages further development of road transport in urban and rural areas for 2021

EXHIBITON
Tashkent is hosting a personal exhibition ‘Nostalgia’ by the Dutch artist Ronald Kleier, which for several decades living in Uzbekistan

POLITICS

Representatives of national cultural centers received high awards of the state
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev decreed to award a group of representatives of national cultural centers with honorary titles, orders and medals in connection with the 25th anniversary of the Republican international cultural center.
In this regard, President of our country Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the awardees at the Uzbekiston Palace of international forums.
There is a deep symbolic meaning in the celebration of this date, widely rejoiced throughout the country as the holiday of friendship, unity and harmony, on the days prior to the birthday of First President of our country Islam Karimov. The great founder of our independence, from the first days in office, attached a particular attention to ensuring inter-ethnic accord as an important factor of strengthening peace and prosperity of our country. In his historical speech, proclaiming the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov remarked: “We will do everything to protect constitutional rights, ensure a real equality of rights for representatives of all ethnicities, living in the republic, to create for them equal opportunities to get educated and communicate in their mother tongue, to maintain and develop national cultural traditions. The policy of independent Uzbekistan remains a policy of civic peace and national accord, built on the noble principles of morality and humanity”.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the solemn ceremony of inauguration to the post of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan has particularly highlighted that he considers his priority task to keep as an apple of the eye and to strengthen the atmosphere of inter-ethnic and civil accord, mutual understanding and friendship.
A wide celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Republican international cultural center in the whole country has been another vivid confirmation of consistent continuation of the policy of humanism and peacefulness in our country.
The Head of our state noted that this issue will be attached a priority significance and wide-scale works on supporting national cultural centers will be continued.
President of our country Shavkat Mirziyoyev solemnly presented the high awards of the Motherland.
Deputy director of the Republican international cultural center Sergey Mironov, deputy chairman of the “Svitanak” Belorussian national cultural center in Tashkent Nina Shubnikova, deputy chairman of the Kazakh national cultural center of the Tashkent region Dinislam Kanaev, chairwoman of the German national cultural center of the Samarkand region, lecturer at the Samarkand professional college of economics and light industry Natalia Kaiser, chairman of the Republican Kyrgyz national cultural center Rakhmatulla Jabborov mentioned that it’s a huge blessing to live in a country, where peace and inter-ethnic accord reigns and this day will be one of the most memorable days in their lives, expressed sincere gratitude to the President of our country for the high attention and care.
(Source: UzA)

INVESTMENTS

Uzbekiston Temir Yullari will build a new plant for excavator and tracked vehicle maintenance in Sirdarya
The project cost will total $29 million. The plant will operate on the basis of wagon-wheel workshops of Uztemiryulmashtamir Company in 2018.
Previously, it was planned to commission the industrial facility in Yangiyer of Sirdarya region in 2017. The company provided no reasons of shifting the construction of the plant to another town, and the terms of its commissioning.
President of Uzbekistan entrusted Uzbekiston Temir Yullari with the development of the feasibility study of the project and submission to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval by April 1, 2017. Meanwhile, the company received permission for construction works and concurrent development of design and estimate documentation by July 1 of the current year.
The leader has also provided benefits and preferences to the companies that are involved in the project. For example, the construction and assembly works that are carried out by units of Uzbekistan Railways, are released from value added tax and mandatory contributions to state funds.
In addition, the hardware and equipment, spare parts, accessories, tools and industrial equipment that are not produced in Uzbekistan and imported within the project, are exempt from customs duties.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)

EXPORT

An independent international laboratory for yarn quality inspection has opened in Tashkent
The domestic light industry has been boosting in recent years. Many projects with foreign investments were implemented in the industry in 2010-2015. According to current estimates, the volume of light industry production will exceed 6.97 trillion soums (currency rates of CB RU from 26.01.2017, 1$= 3265.54 soums) by 2020.
Moreover, it is planned to scale up cotton yarn production from 218,300 tons to 562,800 tons. That, in turn, entailed the need to search for new outlets to sell the Uzbek yarn.
Experts rank the enhancement of credibility of quality of Uzbek products among the most important steps to achieve this goal. Certification of the yarn purchased by international independent companies is vital for the new importers.
This is the reason why the new laboratory is accredited by the 17025:2007 standard, and equipped with a unique device Uster Tester 5. It allows spinners to control the yarn quality in line with such international standards as linear density, the metric number, the number of defects, content of foreign particles, and others.
According to experts, the lab would considerably facilitate the mission of entering new outlets and expanding the map of exports for Uzbek spinners.
Along with testing, the new laboratory will provide pre-shipment inspection of yarn on the whole territory of Uzbekistan. This will raise quality and safety guarantees of the tested products throughout all stages, including the supply of raw materials and final products in almost all segments of the textile industry.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)

INFRASTRUCTURE

A program approved in Uzbekistan envisages further development of road transport in urban and rural areas for 2021
The document envisages opening of 303 new passenger routes, including 240 suburban and intercity routes in the countryside, within five years. The routes that do not currently operate primarily due to lack of buses, will be restored concurrently with the opening of new routes.
Over 8,600 passenger cars for taxi services, including 5,700 comfortable minibuses for public use will also be purchased within the next five years.
Other interesting initiatives include the development of standard designs for bus stations and stopping points to be built with maximum use of light steel structures, sandwich panels and other available materials, mainly of domestic production.
Staged introduction of continuous remote monitoring of the operation of buses and minibuses online through GPS-trackers will ensure the proper quality of passenger services.
The document is called to address the issues of plastic card payment for public transportation services in the regions. The leader of Uzbekistan charged to introduce an electronic payment system in Nukus and other regional centers by July 1, 2018.
More than 840 billion soums (currency rates of CB RU from 26.01.2017, 1$= 3265.54 soums) will be allocated as a program funding for the next five years. They are basically the resources of Uzavtosanoat-Leasing and other leasing companies, commercial bank loans, own funds of private investors, local budgets and other means that are not prohibited by law.
The President has provided certain privileges and preferences for effective implementation of the program. For example, leasing companies and carriers will not pay fees to the Republican Road Fund for purchasing new vans.
The Program also envisages exemption from customs duties of all materials, equipment and spare parts, which are imported and not produced in the country, and which are needed for permanent remote online monitoring of the operation of buses and minibuses, and for the introduction of a cashless fare collection system.
All legal entities engaged in intercity and intraregional long-distance bus transportation in the countryside are exempt from single tax payments.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)

EXHIBITON

Tashkent is hosting a personal exhibition ‘Nostalgia’ by the Dutch artist Ronald Kleier, which for several decades living in Uzbekistan
Here he found not only friends, but also family and home.
Ronald Kleier graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, the department of drawing and painting. In search of inspiration he traveled almost the whole of Central Asia for several years, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Western China. For the artist fell in love with our country Tashkent became a home. He participated in several exhibitions in Tashkent. In 1999, he presented a solo exhibition dedicated to the Aral Sea.
The current exhibition includes a dozen works, including the most recent, written last year, and early ones dating back to the beginning of the 21st century.
“Until 2000, I wrote figurative, almost abstract pictures. Arriving in Uzbekistan, I saw a lot of inspirational images and places. I was struck by the abundance of light. It was barely possible not to paint all this beauty in a realistic manner. I took lessons from one of the leading masters of the brush in Uzbekistan, Javlon Umarbekov,” says the author of the exhibition Ronald Kleier. “As much as it may sound banal, but the themes choose me themselves. Light and shadow are important for me as well. And if they are lined up correctly, it does not matter what I draw - donkey, home or the elderly people. Walking around the city, traveling the region, I take the pictures of places and images I liked. Later, these pictures become a starting point for the idea of a new work. I always change something in the composition, color of photo, transferring it to the canvas. Speaking honestly, I try to create an ideal world in my pictures. It is kind of a dream of reality. People can perceive it differently, but I want to see the world that way.”
Of particular interest is a series of works with facades of conventional two-storey houses. Familiar cityscapes surrounding each, but always remaining unnoticed appear in a new light in the artist’s paintings. The author refers to the simplest themes, revealing for the audience familiar objects, events, and images from a new angle.
“There are many examples in the world when the artist comes to the new country, discovers new themes and feelings. But Ronald Kleier moves away from ethnographic perception of Uzbekistan. He is not just admiring the architecture, admiring the taste of palov, he sees what we do not always notice. The artist focuses the audience’s attention on what is often neglected. No global themes exist in his works. His stories are ‘quiet’ and unpretentious, which is typical for the Dutch. A synthesis of East and West is presented in the author’s works. Despite the fact that Ronald is the European artist to his mentality, traditions and culture, in which he brought up, he was able to fall in love with Uzbekistan and its people. And it is his main difference,” says the art critic Elmira Ahmedova.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)

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