Today’s meeting of the General Assembly is taking place in the context of fundamental changes in our system of international relations. There is a global crisis of confidence. We are experiencing problems with the functioning of security globally and seeing a growing unwillingness to comply with international law. causing huge increases in tension. These geopolitical contradictions are creating new obstacles to the free flow of trade, investment and innovation. Even in areas that concern the fate of humankind as a whole, such as climate change, hunger and inequality, we can feel that mutual communication has been lost. In this complex situation, the notions of preserving a spirit of practical cooperation and interaction, placing our common interests above existing conflicts and strengthening unity among countries are becoming more relevant than ever.
Last year we launched the Samarkand Solidarity Initiative, which is aimed at improving our shared security and development. Our main goals are to comprehensively understand our responsibility for the present and future of our countries and peoples and to engage in a global dialogue with all parties that are ready for open and constructive cooperation. I am confident that the Secretary-General’s initiative to hold a Summit of the Future next year will help address the current challenges to international and regional development and increase the influence and effectiveness of our Organization.
We remain committed to continuing our policy of creating a new Uzbekistan as a law-governed, secular, democratic and social State. Our country is boldly pursuing a path of fundamental reforms and strengthening the principles of democracy and justice, based on ideals representing humane values and interests. In April, for the first time in the history of Uzbekistan, a nationwide referendum was held on our revised Constitution, which defines the priorities for our national development. More than 90 per cent of the voters in the referendum supported this truly popular Constitution, thereby ensuring that our reforms will indeed be irreversible. In our basic law we have reaffirmed our commitment to the principles of the equality of all citizens, human rights and freedom of speech and conscience, regardless of nationality, language or religion. It is on that legal basis that we have adopted our Uzbekistan 2030 development strategy. It is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and we are fulfilling all the commitments we have undertaken.
One of the outcomes of our ongoing reforms is that the economy of Uzbekistan, despite the global challenges, is showing steady growth. Over the past six years, the gross domestic product of the country has grown more than one and a half times. Our main objective is to double that figure by 2030. Another priority of our economic liberalization is becoming a full member of the World Trade Organization in the near future. We have halved poverty in our country since 2017. thanks to policies aimed at improving our people’s living standards, and our aim is to reduce poverty rates to 7 per cent by 2030. We also intend to increase by several orders of magnitude the scale of our water supply, health care, education and other social services to the population. We support the Secretary- General’s Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection initiative. In order to share best practices within that framework, in 2024. under the auspices of the United Nations, we propose holding an international conference in Uzbekistan on “Social Protection: The Path towards Development”.
In recent years. Uzbekistan has achieved remarkable results where the protection of human rights is concerned. We have completely abolished forced labour and child labour. For 100 years, millions were forced to pick cotton in Uzbekistan. The vast majority of the population — from teachers and doctors to entrepreneurs, workers and employees and. unfortunately, schoolchildren and university students — were mobilized to pick cotton every year from September to December. As a result. Uzbek cotton was boycotted and for years the country was blacklisted. Thanks to our will and determination, all of that is now history. Our people have been completely liberated from cotton slavery. The ban on forced labour is guaranteed in our renewed Constitution and we have introduced criminal liability for involvement in the practice. I believe it is essential to intensify the global fight against forced and child labour, and our experience shows that it is possible to put an end to such practices.
One of Uzbekistan’s strategic tasks is developing our human capital and training a creative young generation. We believe that high-quality education, accessible for all. is the most effective factor in eradicating poverty, improving public welfare and achieving sustainable economic growth. In that respect, our country has gained considerable ground in recent years, with the education system undergoing radical transformation. In the past six years, preschool education coverage has increased from 21 to 70 per cent, and that of higher education from 9 to 38 per cent. By 2030 we will have created the conditions for every child to have access to preschool education and for half of all secondary school graduates to obtain higher education.
In recent years the countries of Central Asia have embarked on a path of good-neighbourliness, stability, joint partnership and progress. Thanks to our joint efforts. Uzbekistan has managed to address problems related to State borders, transport corridors and water use with all of its neighbours. Mutual trade between the countries of the region has grown more than two- and-a-half times and the number of joint ventures has increased fivefold. Our region has become a promising centre for economic development and a transport and communications bridge linking East and West. North and South. That has led to growing interest in our countries’ potential. Central Asia’s openness to the world is becoming an important basis for ensuring the region’s security and stable development. It is safe to say that our people have united around a growing sense of regional identity that is becoming ever stronger. We share not only a common history but a future and vital interests. Expanding our regional cooperation is and will be our only choice. I believe firmly that with the support of the international community. Central Asia will continue on a path of unity. In that regard, transforming Central Asia into a peaceful and prosperous region will remain a priority goal of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy from now on.
In Central Asia, where almost half of the population belongs to the younger generation, dealing with the issues facing young people and creating opportunities so that they can realize their potential are vital. In order to strengthen cooperation in that area, the countries of our region recently signed an agreement on the common dimensions of our youth policy. We are interested in establishing effective cooperation with the United Nations and its specialized structures while studying the best practices and achievements of other regions. In that regard. I propose to establish a working group at the United Nations to support youth development in Central Asia. As part of that endeavour, it would be helpful to develop a youth agenda for Central Asia for 2030.
Women’s active participation in society and public administration is an urgent issue today. One of the noblest goals of our national policy is ensuring family stability, legal protection and a peaceful life for women and girls. In addition, we are making systemic efforts to achieve equality between men and women. For example, last year, girls accounted for 49 per cent of university enrolments, and women’s participation in public administration reached 35 per cent for the first time. We have enacted a special law aimed at protecting women and minors from domestic violence, and we are interested in further expanding our cooperation with UN-Women. As a joint initiative, we have proposed holding the Asia Women’s Forum in Uzbekistan next year to discuss the fulfilment of women’s creative potential and to exchange experiences and best practices in that area.
The world is facing a critical environmental situation today. The triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental contamination are worsening. In those challenging conditions, while the countries of Central Asia have continued to grapple with the tragedy of the Aral Sea. our region is becoming one of the parts of the world most vulnerable to climate change. Uzbekistan is doing its best to mitigate the consequences of the Aral Sea tragedy, which remains a global problem. In the past few years we have created 1.7 million hectares of green areas with drought- tolerant plants on the dried-up bed of the Aral Sea. but the support of the international community is essential if we are to continue those vital efforts. Over the past 30 years, the air temperature in our region has increased by 1.5°C — more than twice the global average. As a result, nearly one third of the total area of glaciers in the region has melted. If that trend continues, the flow of the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, the two major rivers in our region, could decrease by 15 per cent in the next 20 years. It is expected that the per capita water supply will fall by 25 per cent and agricultural yields by 40 per cent. Unless we take timely and effective measures, the consequences of those problems will seriously undermine our region’s socioeconomic stability.
In that context, we support the establishment of the position of a special representative of the Secretary-General for water resources. We are in favour of attracting and introducing state-of-art technologies for the process of establishing a water- saving-technologies platform in Central Asia, using the United Nations Inter-Agency Mechanism on All Freshwater Related Issues. Including Sanitation. We are building systematic cooperation as part of the green development programme that the countries of the region have adopted. That partnership completely dovetails with our interests and is aimed at preventing threats related to climate change. In that regard. I believe that the implementation of the outcomes of the High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change and Resilience in Central Asia will be extremely useful. We have put forward an initiative on adopting a draft resolution entitled “Central Asia facing global climate threats: solidarity for common prosperity”, and we propose to discuss its substance at an international climate forum to be held in Samarkand next year. In that regard. I would like to emphasize that adapting the main sectors of Uzbekistan’s economy to climate change, achieving carbon neutrality and drastically increasing green energy’s share in our energy mix remains a strategic task for us.
We need to strengthen our joint efforts to prevent the spread of the scourge of extremism and the radicalization of young people. In Tashkent in March, we adopted a joint plan of action for the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia. As part of our national strategy on countering extremism and terrorism, we are particularly emphasizing the issue, including by helping people affected by extremist ideas to return to normal lives and reintegrate into society. We have gained unique experience in that regard. As part of our Mehr humanitarian operation — which means “benevolence” and has been carried out five times over — we have repatriated more than 530 of our citizens, most of them women and children, from conflict zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan. They have all received medical, psychological and social assistance and other forms of support. Here at United Nations Headquarters in June, the international community heard stories from people who had been repatriated to our country and who had embarked on a new life. In order to continue the ongoing efforts in that direction and to promote a continued exchange of lessons learned, we have taken specific measures under the auspices of the Office of Counter-Terrorism to establish a council of regional experts on systemic work with people repatriated from combat zones. We Member States must be more united and work together to combat common threats such as international terrorism.
I would like to emphasize another important matter. We believe that the recent manifestations of religious intolerance and Islamophobia that we have seen in some countries are unacceptable. Under the auspices of UNESCO, and in order to promote ideas of religious tolerance and cooperation globally, we propose establishing an international centre in Uzbekistan for interreligious dialogue and cooperation. We take great pride in the fact that our country is the homeland of outstanding scholars and thinkers such as Al-Khwarizmi. Al-Biruni. I bn Sina. Imam Al-Bukhari. Mirzo Ulugbek and Alisher Navoiy. who made incomparable contributions to the development of science and showed Islam to be a religion of knowledge and peace. Next year, in order to study the rich heritage of those great scholars and reveal to the world the true humane essence of Islam, we propose organizing in Uzbekistan an international conference entitled “Islam: a religion of peace and kindness”.
The developments in Afghanistan have had a direct impact on international security. The country is facing an unprecedented situation that demands a unique approach to resolving its issues. Leaving Afghanistan to once again face its problems alone would be a grave mistake. Ignoring it. isolating it and imposing sanctions on it only exacerbate the hardships facing ordinary Afghans. We believe that humanitarian aid to the Afghan people should not be reduced. We call for developing appropriate mechanisms that can utilize Afghanistan’s frozen international assets to address its acute social problems. We need an open, peaceful and sustainable Afghanistan that is actively engaged in regional cooperation initiatives and ready for mutually beneficial partnerships with its neighbours and other countries. From this rostrum. I urge the international community to come together in resolving the issue of Afghanistan. I believe it is essential that we work together to develop a flexible and constructive approach to the Afghan issue under the leadership of the United Nations.
At this turning point in history, we must all consider what kind of planet we will leave to future generations. Only through shared aspirations and collective action can we achieve lasting peace and prosperity. More than ever, we need mutual trust, unity and a spirit of cooperation. In conclusion. I want to reiterate that on this path Uzbekistan will always remain committed to strengthening deep and long-term cooperation with United Nations structures and all countries.