Today I would like
to address some of the most important issues on the
General Assembly’s agenda.
First are the growing regional and international
security challenges and threats, escalating conflicts
and wars, and the aggravation of geopolitical
confrontations between large centres of power, which
could produce new areas of tension in the world and
make it more difficult to address the continuing global
financial and economic crisis. All those elements are
cause for serious alarm and deep concern. Uzbekistan
firmly believes that such acute contradictions and
confrontations can be tackled only through a political
path and peaceful means, in strict observance of the
fundamental principles of international law enshrined
in the Charter of the United Nations.
The persisting instability in Afghanistan, which is
exhibiting a tendency to escalate further, poses a serious
threat to stability and security in Central Asia and the
greater region. In the situation currently unfolding, the
accelerated drawdown of the International Security
Assistance Force may turn out to be counterproductive,
and that could further complicate the state of affairs in
Afghanistan.
Today we can say with confidence that all the
parties interested in resolving the Afghan problem
are unanimous about one thing, which is that there is
no military way to achieve peace in Afghanistan. The
President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, said so as long
ago as 2008 at a NATO Summit in Bucharest, and at the
General Assembly’s 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting
on the Millennium Development Goals (see A/65/PV.3).
The presidential elections in Afghanistan this year
demonstrated vividly that the Afghan people are tired
of bloodshed and violence, long-standing misery and
devastation. Today they want peace and stability and
the right to define their fate on their own.
The only reasonable way to tackle the Afghan
problem is to search for a political settlement of the
conflict through peaceful negotiations and achieve
consensus to establish a coalition Government in which
all of Afghanistan’s parties in conflict and its national
and religious groups would be represented.
Uzbekistan adheres to a policy of non-interference
in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. We are building and
will continue to develop stable, friendly relations with
Afghanistan that proceed from the national interests of
both countries, and, on an exclusively bilateral basis,
we will support the Government elected by the Afghan
people.
Secondly, in view of the ongoing global financial
and economic crisis, transport and communications
development and strengthened regional economic
cooperation are key factors for ensuring Central Asia’s
stability and sustainable development. Implementing
large transport and communications infrastructure
projects that can connect our region with global
markets will promote interregional trade and economic
cooperation, attract investment and help develop social
and industrial infrastructure, as well as promote steady
progress in neighbouring regions. I refer in particular
to such projects as the international Uzbekistan-
Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman Transport Corridor, which
will link Central Asian countries to the Middle East
by the shortest and most reliable and secure route.
Uzbekistan’s completion of the Hairatan to Mazar-i-
Sharif railway, the first and so far the only functioning
railroad linking Afghanistan to the outside world, was
a historic landmark event.
Thirdly, as the States of Central Asia, like many
other countries, are experiencing growing water
shortages, the fair and reasonable use of the resources
of the transboundary Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers
becomes extremely important to the life support and
well-being of the population of Central Asia. Uzbekistan
adheres firmly to the principled position that the issue of
the reasonable use of Central Asia’s transboundary river
resources must be resolved according to the universally
recognized norms of international law and within the
framework of the relevant United Nations conventions
on the use of international watercourses, which clearly
define the principles of preventing damage to the
environment and interests of neighbouring countries.
We believe it is unacceptable that certain countries
in the region are promoting the construction of large
hydropower stations with gigantic dams without
conducting an international, truly independent,
unprejudiced and professional expert study.
Implementing such projects without thorough analysis
could exacerbate tensions and the potential for conflict
in the region. Building such grandiose hydropower
facilities in a mountainous, highly seismic area with
a potential for earthquakes of magnitude of 9 points
or highter could carry a high risk of devastating man-
made catastrophes. I wish to underscore that owing to
the potential for making ecological problems worse,
a growing number of countries around the world are
rejecting the construction of gigantic dams and opting
for small and medium-size hydropower stations that do
not damage the environment, safety or socioeconomic
well-being of their populations.
Fourthly, the dynamic development of our economy
and modernization of all spheres of the country’s life
have enabled Uzbekistan to ensure the implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead
of schedule. Since achieving independence, Uzbekistan
has seen its economy grow almost five-fold and per
capita income increase 8.7 times, testifying to the
growth in our standards and quality of life. In the past
10 years, Uzbekistan’s annual rate of growth of its gross
domestic product (GDP) has exceeded 8 per cent. By
2030 we intend to increase the per capita GDP to $9,300.
About 60 per cent of State expenditures are
channelled to fund social development, with more than
34.3 per cent of that spent on education. Almost 100 per
cent of school-age children attend secondary schools.
Women now represent 45.4 per cent of employed
persons. We have achieved tangible successes in
improving maternal and child health, with the mortality
rate among children under the age of 5 reduced by a
factor of 1.8 and maternal mortality rates by 1.6.
Furthermore, Uzbekistan will do its utmost to
achieve all its intended plans for the implementation of
the MDGs as soon as possible. We will also continue to
undertake large-scale programmes in terms of the post-
2015 development agenda.