Uzbekistan’s gold reserves are growing for the third month in a row; Uzbekistan intends to improve its global rankings; Transparency International will help Uzbekistan to fight corruption; WCO Secretary General to pay a visit to Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan and Turkey discuss prospects for further development and expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation;
Uzbekistan’s gold reserves are growing for the third month in a row
The gold and currency reserves of Uzbekistan have been growing for the third month in a row, it follows from the data of the Central Bank.
On February 1, 2019, the country’s gross gold reserves amounted to $ 27.2 billion. Of these, 12.6 billion are assets in foreign currency, 14.5 billion are monetary gold. On December,1 2018 gold reserves compiled $ 25,9 billion, however on January,1 2019 it already was $ 27 billion.
The Central Bank notes that the increase in reserves in January 2019 is partly due to the increase in the price of gold from $ 1,281 to $ 1,322 per troy ounce (impact on the increase of $ 466.6 million).
Uzbekistan intends to improve its global rankings
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree “On measures aimed at improving Uzbekistan’s position in global rankings and indices”.
Criteria and indicators of priority international ratings are defined as part of the monitoring system, allowing to measure management quality and policy effectiveness, assess transformation processes occurring in the country and develop priority directions for reforms based on research results, the document notes.
The head of state instructed to create until April 1, 2019 a single portal “The Republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings”, which includes annual reports on international ratings, as well as recommendations from international organizations and experts on improving the state of affairs in relevant areas, indicating the timing of studies and publication.
Transparency International will help Uzbekistan to fight corruption
Svetlana Savitskaya, regional director of the organization, says Transparency International is ready to assist Uzbekistan in the fight against corruption.
“We have agreed to hold a joint event in Tashkent at the end of April on the implementation of international anti-corruption standards and modern practices in Uzbekistan involving Transparency International experts,” the report reads.
Currently, in accordance with the list compiled by Transparency International, Uzbekistan ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the fight against corruption. For comparison, in 2017, the republic ranked 157th and in 2016, 156th.
Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization which is based in Berlin, Germany, and was founded in 1993. Its nonprofit purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption.
WCO Secretary General to pay a visit to Uzbekistan
On 25 February, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Belgium Dilyor Khakimov met with the Executive Officer of the Secretary General Office of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Alan Harrison, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said in a statement.
At the meeting, issues of the visit to Uzbekistan of WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, to be held on 5-7 March, were discussed.
Following the negotiations, the parties agreed on practical assistance of the organization in improving the institutional capacity of the customs services of Uzbekistan in security of supply, protection of intellectual property and law enforcement. WCO plans to hold workshops for representatives of the customs service of the country in such areas as “Control of passengers and baggage at the airport” and “Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of customs control”, as well as a number of other special joint projects and events.
Uzbekistan and Turkey discuss prospects for further development and expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan together with the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the assistance of the Association of Independent Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkey “MUSIAD” organized a visit of a delegation of Turkish business circles to Uzbekistan.
The bilateral documents signed during the above visits contributed to the entry to a qualitatively new level of bilateral relations in the economic, commercial, banking and financial, investment, tourism, transport and logistics and healthcare. The parties also discussed the potential of the republic in the field of “pilgrim” tourism, presented information on the prospects for the development of the construction industry and urban planning with the organization of the presentation of the project “Tashkent city”.
In the framework of the “round table” meetings and negotiations of entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan and Turkey in the “B2B” format were held.