Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the Ministry of Preschool Education (MDO), at the initiative of the Australian side, a meeting was held with the co-chairman of the Australian Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) and the Chairman of the Australian Children’s Fund (ADF), Mr. John Andrew Henry Forrest, who arrived in the Republic of Uzbekistan to study the possibility of providing assistance to the republic in the implementation of social projects, including in the preschool education system.

The meeting was attended by AFC staff, including HR Manager Ms Claudia Blanch, Head of Logistics and Project Coordination Mr Daniel Hogan, Chief Legal Officer Ms Emily Ward and Head of Human Resources government organizations Elena Pinchuk.

From the side of the Ministry of Preschool Education, the meeting was attended by the Minister of Preschool Education A.V. Shin, Deputy Minister of Preschool Education M. Yuldashev, Head of the Department for Quality Assurance of the Educational Process and Implementation of Innovative Pedagogical Technologies V. Kim, Head of the Statistics Department of the Main Directorate for Formation and Development policy in the field of preschool education N. Ziyamov.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the results of the ongoing large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan, as well as the current state and prospects of Uzbek-Australian relations in the field of preschool education.

The head of the delegation emphasized that Australia continues to observe with interest the positive changes taking place in Uzbekistan and the trends in the country’s socio-political and socio-economic development.

According to the guest, over the past 2-3 years, Uzbekistan has achieved tremendous results in reducing poverty and inequality, improving the well-being of socially vulnerable groups of the population. The large-scale reforms carried out in the republic aimed at achieving long-term dynamic development of the country have created new opportunities for the development of the preschool education system, greater than in Australia.

According to Mr. Forest, Uzbekistan can become one of the important strategic partners of the Australian Children’s Fund, and in this regard, he emphasized the need to sign a memorandum of understanding between MDO and ADF.

Special attention of the representatives of the fund was paid to finding common ground in the possible joint implementation of innovations and advanced initiatives of the preschool education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan in such states as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Ecuador and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

As a result of the negotiations, an agreement was reached to provide the Uzbek side with gratuitous financial assistance in the implementation of programs developed by the Australian Children’s Fund on the territory of the republic aimed at developing the quality of the preschool education system.