We publish the speech of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev from the last January 12-13 online summit “Voice of the Global South”. In his speech, the leader of the country stressed the relevance of such issues as the development of transport infrastructure, the “green” economy, as well as the quality of education. The President also noted that the very possibility of dialogue between states is extremely important in the era of global challenges.
Your Excellency, Dear Mr. Narendra Modi! Dear Heads of State and Government,
I am sincerely glad to welcome all participants of the Voice of the Global South summit.
I join the words of gratitude to the Prime Minister of India, dear Mr. Modi, for the initiative to hold our dialogue today on the topic “Human-centered development”.
This forum is a clear evidence of India’s commitment to the principle of “The world is one family”.
I am confident that our summit will make a significant contribution to the successful chairmanship of the G20 of India, whose international prestige, economic, technological and intellectual potential continue to grow.
Dear participants of the summit!
Today, the world community is facing increasingly acute contradictions and conflicts, the negative consequences of the economic crisis.
We are witnessing a lack of open dialogue and mutual trust in international relations.
The coronavirus pandemic, problems of food and energy security, and ecology have a negative impact on the prospects for global development.
In such a difficult situation, our countries face many new obstacles, especially on the way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In this regard, the main principle of the United Nations “Not to leave anyone behind” is now becoming more and more relevant.
In this context, I would like to emphasize India’s active role and place in strengthening mutually beneficial and productive relations with developing countries.
In recent years, the relations of strategic partnership and practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and India have reached a completely new level and serve the common interests of our peoples.
Dear Heads of State and Government,
Today, large-scale reforms are consistently continuing in the New Uzbekistan.
Ensuring the interests of a person, his honor and dignity is determined by the most important goal and occupies a central place in our policy.
The essence of our Development Strategy is the rule of law and the development of human capital, building a just and strong civil society.
We have set ourselves big tasks, in particular, to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the near future, and to halve poverty in the country.
To implement them, 2023 has been declared the Year of Human Care and Quality Education in Uzbekistan.
Conditions are being created in our country to expand opportunities for obtaining modern education and professions.
Special attention is paid to effective social protection of vulnerable segments of the population, providing them with qualified and high-quality medical services.
We are always open to close cooperation with international partners in the consistent continuation of our irreversible reforms.
Dear participants of the summit!
Uzbekistan fully supports India’s chairmanship in the G-20 and the priority goals and noble aspirations put forward within its framework.
I would like to make the following practical suggestions on the issues on the agenda of our meeting.
Time itself requires the improvement of the current system of international trade.
Of course, the “Voice of the global South” should be taken into account in this process – the necessary conditions have been created for realizing the potential of developing countries.
Unfortunately, when entering the main markets, our countries still face various obstacles and restrictions.
Given that our states have serious industrial and agricultural potential and a capacious domestic market, it is important to develop common approaches to creating a fair competitive environment at the global level.
In addition, we believe that the agenda of the world summit should include issues of ensuring energy and food security of developing countries, the formation of a global logistics network and value chains, assistance in attracting investment and advanced technologies.
Another strategic question.
We support the development of the North–South international corridor, which is one of the main transport arteries in the Eurasian region.
We are actively promoting the project of building a railway through Afghanistan with access to the Indian Ocean to strengthen the interconnectedness of Central and South Asia. We invite our partners to take part in this very important project.
The analysis shows that in the conditions of transition to a “green” economy, the technological gap between developed and developing countries is increasing. We believe that the time has come to create an information bank of “green” technologies and innovations for the “Global South” with the support of the leading countries of the world.
The next urgent issue is the development of human capital and improving the quality of vocational education. We are interested in intensifying our cooperation with India in the field of education.
Dear colleagues!
The key place in the concept of “human-centered development” should be occupied by the issue of educating a harmoniously developed younger generation.
We must widely involve our talented youth in the development of national and international programs in the field of climate change, rational use of water resources, alternative energy, digitalization and other priority areas.
Based on this, I would like to put forward a proposal to create a permanent dialogue platform between our countries, the Voice of the Youth of the South.
Dear colleagues!
The negative consequences of the various conflicts escalating in the world today are felt primarily in developing countries.
I am sure that within the framework of the G-20 presidency of India – “the homeland of Buddha and Gandhi,” as my dear friend Narendra Modi said – new initiatives to ensure peace and security on a global scale will be presented to the world community.
I hope that the proposal promoted by Uzbekistan on the establishment of an international Negotiating Group on Afghanistan will also be supported.
Dear friends!
We will always support India’s active efforts to effectively protect the interests of developing countries in the international arena.
Undoubtedly, all of today’s proposals and initiatives will serve human interests and achieve the Goals of Sustainable Development.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to sincerely congratulate the friendly people of India on the upcoming national holiday – Republic Day.
Thank you for your attention.
Prepared the material: Sofia Chernopyatova
