| May 30-June 6, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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U.S. Eximbank Chairman visits Uzbekistan
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U.S. Ex-Im Bank's board of directors approved a 215 million-dollar long-term guarantee to finance engineering services and equipment for a polyethylene plant known as the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex. The Shurtan plant is located in Kashkadarya, one of Uzbekistan's twelve provinces. Once put into operation, the plant will produce 125,000 tons of polyethylene, nearly 137,000 tons of liquefied gas and 37,000 tons of light condensate on an annual basis. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of the year 2000. Ex-Im Bank guaranteed a loan by Chase Manhattan Bank to finance U.S. exports from four companies to design, build and commission the Shurtan plant. The total cost of the project is estimated at 762 million U.S. dollars. Since Uzbekistan's independence, Ex-Im Bank has financed $800 million in exports to the country, making it one of the top markets for Ex-Im Bank financing in the Newly Independent States. Additional financing will be provided by export credit agencies from Japan and Germany, as well as the government of Uzbekistan. The borrower is Uzbek State Oil and Gas Corporation. There is a sovereign guarantee with repayment over ten years beginning in 2001. The Ex-Im Bank decision was made during the annual session of the American-Uzbek chamber of commerce in Washington DC last month. On June 1 President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States James Harmon, visited Uzbekistan. He met with the government's senior officials including President Islam Karimov and discussed ways to increase financing for the purchase of U.S. exports. Mr. Harmon had meetings with Prime Minister Utkir Sultonov, Chairman of the State Oil and Gas Corporation Kayum Khakkulov, Energy Minister Ataev, Chairman of the National Bank Rustam Azimov and General Manager of Uzbek Airways Arslan Ruzmetov and khokims (governors) of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khorezm oblasts that he had visited prior to Tashkent.
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Uzbek mountaineers return home
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On Tuesday the mountaineers from Uzbekistan who had planted an Uzbek flag on top of Everest came back from their historic and heroic mission.
The Uzbek crew became the only one among fifteen other crews from twelve countries to have completed the mission successfully. The 11 mountaineers as they said "dedicated their victory to the seventh anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence." U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Joseph Presel congratulated the mountaineers on their success and thanked them for their courage in an attempt to save the life of the American mountaineer. On Friday the mountaineers were honored at the Museum of Olympic Glory. Here they decided to donate, the flag they had risen over Everest, to the museum.
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OSCE Commissioner meets Parliament Chairman
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Oliy Majlis Chairman Erkin Khalilov received OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Max van der Stul on June 2 in Tashkent. Chairman Khalilov briefed Mr. van der Stul on the country's legislation in relationship with ethnic minorities in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan truly respects the rights of minorities. Uzbek people, if you have noticed, have always been friendly not only to the minorities resident of Uzbekistan, but also to foreign guests. Since the country's independence no conflicts with ethnic minorities have been reported.
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CIS Interior Ministers meet in Tashkent
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A scheduled session of the Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS states was held in Tashkent on Tuesday.
In his opening remarks Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Utkir Sultonov said that the economic integration within the CIS cannot be achieved without the cooperation of CIS law enforcers. This cooperation should be mainly directed at fighting major crimes such as drug trafficking, organized crime, religious extremism and terrorism. Despite the fact that many documents adopted during CIS summits don't work, the interior ministers said that they had established good working relations on information exchange. Uzbekistan has comparatively better order-preserving records in the CIS. Credit goes to the new Criminal Code. Some experts say that it is a very harsh code, however it works. At the end of the session minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan Zokirjon Almatov was elected chairman to this Council. On Thursday the ministers were received by President Karimov. The president said he was satisfied by the results of the session and the work of the council as a whole.
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President's visit to Kashkadarya oblast
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Everytime the President visits an oblast, there is a problem and somebody has to go. This time it was the khokim of Kashkadarya province Ozod Parmonov. By a presidential decree he has been released from his position passing it over to a new khokim Shuhrat Begmatov. This was the conclusion of the president's visit to Kashkadarya on Wednesday.
Before criticising the local government for ineffficient work, President Karimov addressed some compliments to the oblast. Kashkadarya produces 90 percent of all the natural gas. It grows a lot of cotton and grain. It has rich history." However" said the president, "for the last two and a half years of Mr. Parmonov's leadership here, the problem of selection of competent personnel became one of the worst. The former khokim appointed people he liked and fired those he disliked. He didn't hire people according to their knowledge, profession and experience. This kind of attitude towards work," mentioned the president, "will bring the economy of the oblast to ruin and which in fact was down the past years." On the same day the president went to see the oblast's major plants and construction sites.
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New plant is in operation in Ferghana
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Yesterday one of the country's largest chemical enterprises was put into operation in Ferghana.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Ismoil Jurabekov went to the town for the inauguration of the plant which will produce the fusion of chemical fibre Polyamid-6 and glass lounge frm this fibre. The plant was possible due to the cooperation with German Hema Balkadur that invested over a hundred nillion Deutsche marks. The Uzbek government appropriated one billion soums. Annually 3.5 thousand tons of fusion and the same quantity of glass lounge will be produced here. Head of the German company said that his company would invest in more projects in Uzbekistan to develop carpet and tire production.
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World Bank approves a $24-mln.-loan for Uzbekistan
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The World Bank approved a US$24 million loan to Uzbekistan for the Tashkent solid waste management project. The project will return the existing municipal solid waste management system to a satisfactory level of service, and improve the technical, financial, and institutional basis for its future operation and development. Total project cost, including contingencies, is US$56 million. The government of Uzbekistan is providing US$11 million, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing US$21 million of the total cost. Since Uzbekistan joined the bank in 1992, bank commitments total US$351 million for 6 projects.
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Teachers to study overseas
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40 teachers and professors from the country's different institutes and universities departed this week for the United States for training. This program is carried out by "Ustoz" foundation, the main objective of which is to improve Uzbek teachers's qualifications overseas. For teachers it is good to be always in shape, because in recent years more students than teachers studied overseas and teachers may have felt competition imposed by students.
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New Ambassador to Germany begins his mission
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Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the Federal Republic of Germany and former presidential adviser Vladimir Norov has officially begun fulfilling his diplomatic mission by presenting his credentials to German President Roman Herzog this week.
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President Karimov meets Russian TV heads
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Yesterday President Islam Karimov met with the head of Moscow Television's Channel 6 Eduard Sagalaev and his deputy. Both sides spoke about reforms in Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan's position on the CIS. By the way it is worth mentioning that Eduard Sagalev is originally from Samarkand.
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Uzbek-Korean medical center marks its holiday
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It's been one year since the Uzbek-Korean center of oriental medicine in Tashkent provided its medical services.
The center was established last year at the First Tashkent Medical Institute. It has already provided its services to almost 20,000 people with different health problems. The center employs twelve Korean experts who help others free of charge. The Institute's students often visit the center to learn the secrets of medicine from the Korean healers.
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New highway will save $20 mln.
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The government plans to make 13 million dollars more for the budget by exploiting a new railway.
Once put into operation the new 774-km-long railway will connect Navoi to Nukus in Karakalpakstan. These areas are industrially developed and need perfect transportation infrastructure. In the past cargo used to be delievered via Turkmenistan spending extra 20 million dollars. In addition Uzbekistan plans to earn 13 million more dollars in transit payments from other countries.
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Seven Wahabis get long sentence terms
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The trial over a group of young people accused of spreading anti-government and extremistic spirit in Namanghan oblast has ended.
These seven people were tried on charges of committing several crimes as members of the illegal nationalistic organization "Adolat" formed at one of Namanghan's mosques. According to the investigation they established contacts with Afghanistan's "Djihad" party to train youngsters from Uzbekistan military skills. 500 of people from Ferghana and Namanghan were sent by the Namanghan-based organization to Afghanistan for trainings. The court found all seven defendants guilty of attempting to recruit youngsters for their Wahabi organization and to destabilize the local Government in Namanghan. The court sentenced them from six to ten years of imprisonment.
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