Uzbekistan’s President Receives the U.S. Secretary of State. 2
Uzbekistan to Build 6,100 Km of Broadband Fiber-Optic Communication Lines by 2018. 4
POLItiCs
Uzbekistan’s President Receives the U.S. Secretary of State
On November 1 at the Forumlar Majmuasi complex in the city of Samarkand, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov met with John Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States of America.
Extending his cordial greeting to the guest, the head of our state noted that John Kerry’s first visit to Uzbekistan affords a good opportunity to exchange views across a broad range of issues in the bilateral cooperation along with topics in international affairs.
The two nations have currently seen sustainable growth in trade and consolidation of economic ties. One of the success stories in the interaction on this front has been the fruitful activity of America’s General Motors in Uzbekistan. The strategic partnership envisages joint realization of three major hi-tech projects now underway in Andijan and Khorezm regions and the city of Tashkent.
The world’s leading manufacturers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and other U.S. companies have similarly been active in our country.
The meeting in Samarkand also served for the two sides to swap views on pressing regional matters, with an eye to security issues in the context of developments unfolding in Afghanistan.
The United States Secretary of State extended his earnest gratefulness to the President of Uzbekistan for a warm welcome and confirmed the willingness of the U.S. administration to keep with the steadfast advancement of bilateral relations built on our two countries’ shared interests.
(Source: UzA)
A Reward for Hard Work
This season Uzbekistan has gathered over 3.35 million tons of cotton, 7.3 million tons of grain, and is expecting to produce nearly 16 million tons of fruit and vegetables. The credit goes to the farmers for providing the country with the products it needs. The leader of Uzbekistan has congratulated all the villagers with the progress.
The Uzbek farmers have skillfully organized their work, worked hard throughout the year, focusing on improving logistics, timely and well-organized agro-technical activities, especially topping and defoliation. Therefore, the cotton crop was harvested in a short time – for 35-40 days, with 90% of high-grades.
The President mentioned the challenges of this season.
“We are well aware that every year in agriculture is challenging in its own way. This season has had its troubles: the unexpected snow and severe cold in March, and an unprecedented early heat have caused many problems for rural workers, a serious challenge to their will and stamina,” said Islam Karimov.
“However, despite the problems, our farmers have overcome all difficulties, day after day, tirelessly, skillfully and lovingly cared for each germ and have grown a rich harvest, which certainly deserves the highest appreciation and gratitude.”
The big progress has been grounded on the measures that have been taken over the past seven years: 1.627 trillion soums was invested in land improvement on more than 2 million hectares of land. As a result, yields of cotton and wheat have grown by an average of 2-5 metric centners over the past two years (currency rates of CB RU from 03.11.2015 1$= 2692.13 soums).
“Speaking about the outcomes of this season, which will undoubtedly go down as a bright page in the agricultural chronicle of our country, I would like to note that the achievements are primarily based on well-considered and scaled reforms, on the strategy which aims at bringing the agricultural sector in the up-to-date level, and opening broad opportunities for the farmers’ movement,” said the President.
The farmer movement has been appearing as a decisive force in rural development. Each farmer has been increasingly interested in the results of their work, and their confidence in the future has been growing. That all has been changing agriculture and life as a whole.
The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov highlighted the success of the domestic crop production.
“We express our deep gratitude as we admire the selfless work of our farmers and all the specialists involved that have grown an unprecedented high yield of grain, providing us with bread,” said the President.
The average yield of wheat in the country has reached 53 metric centners of grain per hectare, 71 centners in Andijan region, 60 centners – in Bukhara region, 57 centners in Kashkadarya and Namangan regions, 56 – in Samarkand and Surkhandarya, 55 – in Fergana , 52 centners – in Tashkent region. In many areas it has exceeded 60-77 metric centners per hectare, which is a huge achievement of the country’s agriculture. Uzbekistan has turned into a country, which provides more than 31.5 million people with bread, and also exports grain.
Big credit goes to researchers and breeders, for their remarkable progress in building and zoning high-yield and early mature crop varieties, resistant to various diseases.
Islam Karimov has identified new missions for the future development.
“We are well aware that the rapidly changing time challenges the agricultural sector with new tasks. Our farmers’ products should be more competitive to ensure the steadily increasing demand in the world market,” the Uzbek leader emphasized.
To this end, we have to focus on the relevance of modernization of agriculture, make multi-farms and councils of farmers more effective, raise a new generation of farmers, breed high-yielding, early maturing varieties of cotton and grain that would be resistant to diseases and meet the climatic conditions of each region, expand areas of intensive orchards, increase the number of processing plants, improve soil fertility, and introduce up-to-date energy and water saving agricultural technologies.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
investments
A Tungsten Horizon
Uzbekistan and South Korea are getting prepared to launch the construction of a mining and processing complex in the second half of 2016 on the basis of Sautbay field, totaling more than $100 million.
Established by the State Geology Committee of Uzbekistan, the Uz-Kor Tungsten joint venture will be engaged in mining and construction of the complex by 49%, and the South Korean Shindon Resources – by 51%.
“The complex will manufacture highly liquid tungsten products completely for export. We expect that development of the banking feasibility study for the opening of the project funding will be completed by the end of 2015,” commented the Shindon Resources Director Ahn Jae Yong for Uzbekistan Today.
In the first half of 2016 the joint venture will get an exploration license and borrowed funds from commercial banks for the construction, and the construction of the processing plant will begin in the second half of the year.
According to Ahn Jae Yong, they have already estimated the cost of the related infrastructure. The construction of power facilities will cost $10 million, a desalination plant and water supply system – $15 million, the pipeline – about $2.5 million, he said.
The explored reserves at Sautbay section have exceeded 4 million tons of ore, including 17 thousand tons of tungsten. Sautbay will be developed in the first turn to be followed by Burgut, the estimated reserves of which have exceeded 4.1 million tons of ore, and then – by Sagynkan», Ahn Jae Yong said.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
TECHNOLOGIES
Uzbekistan to Build 6,100 Km of Broadband Fiber-Optic Communication Lines by 2018
In compliance with the address program of investment projects on the creation of new production and modernization and reconstruction of existing production in 2015-2017, it is planned to build 6,100 km of broadband fiber-optic communication lines. There are 1,800 km planned to build this year, ICTNEWS writes.
Currently, the length of optical fiber lines in the country is 16000 km. In such remote areas as Kungrad, Boysun, Uzun and Muynak Districts, over 2,000 km of fiber-optic communication lines were built.
Expansion of fiber-optic lines improves the quality of broadband Internet access. In early 2015, the number of uses of these ports increased by 640,000 as compared to the same period last year, the number of operated ports increased by 135.1%.
In the first half of 2015, the capacity of broadband telecommunications expanded by 85.9 thousand ports and brought to 699.3 thousand. As a result, the number of subscribers increased by 121.4% compared to the same period last year. Eventually, the users of the network were provided with video telephony services, Internet TV, high-speed internet, broadcast HDTV-channels and so on.
(Source: IA «Uzbekistan Today»)
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