At a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, on 15 May, the districts where a poverty reduction programme based on China’s experience will be implemented were named. Such plans had been announced a few days earlier.
The meeting noted China’s extensive experience in poverty reduction. The programme, based on that experience and tailored for each region of Uzbekistan, will aim to enhance road transport, energy, communications and tourism infrastructure, develop small and medium-sized cities, and industrialise mahallas in poverty-stricken areas.
The meeting noted that the government investment programs, which will be approved every year, will follow a similar approach from now on.
The President instructed Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov, Employment and Poverty Reduction Minister Bekhzod Musayev and Economy and Finance Minister Sherzod Kudbiyev to develop a comprehensive programme to lift 14 selected districts out of poverty within a month. Those districts are as follows, Uzbekistan 24 TV channel reported:
- Bozatau district of Karakalpakstan;
- Pakhtaabad District, Andijan Region;
- Vabkent District, Bukhara Region;
- Dustlik district, Jizzak region;
- Shakhrisabz district, Kashkadarya region;
- Navbahor district, Navoi region;
- Chust district, Namangan region;
- Bulungur district, Samarkand region;
- Khavast district, Syrdarya region;
- Jarkurgan district, Surkhandarya region;
- Urtachirchik district, Tashkent region;
- Yazjavan district, Fergana region;
- Urgench district, Khorezm region;
- Chilanzar district of Tashkent province.
“If we complete the experiment and implement the Chinese experience [of poverty reduction], we will implement it throughout the country next year,” the head of state said.
He set a goal of introducing 10 high-yield projects from China’s agriculture sector in Uzbekistan by the end of the year.
In co-operation with Chinese centres, all 9,445 aides to hokims in the country’s mahallas are to be trained, and at least 200 of them, who show good results, will be sent to China for practical training.
“We are allocating large funds. Now we need to use them properly”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed.
As we wrote earlier, startıng from June 1, Uzbekistan wıll launch a program “20,000 entrepreneurs — 500,000 qualified specialists”, for which $1 billion will be allocated. Businesses participating in the programme will be exempted from property taxes, social tax will be reduced, and tax authorities will not check their activities.
