Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 14 December, a video conference was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at which the effectiveness of the work on the development of the service sector and priority tasks for the future was considered.

On 11 May 2021, the head of state signed a resolution "On measures to accelerate the development of the service sector." The document envisages the transformation of this sector into one of the drivers of the economy and a twofold increase in the volume of services by 2023.

On 30 September, another important document was adopted - the Presidential Decree "On additional measures to support the service sector", which extended the benefits for public catering, trade, tourism and transport introduced due to the pandemic. The problems raised during the meetings with entrepreneurs were also resolved.

This year, 29 thousand projects worth 18 trillion soums have been implemented, the growth in the service sector was 20 percent. However, the growth rates in 5 districts and cities turned out to be extremely low. In general, the volume of local services remains low.

In this regard, the meeting discussed issues of large-scale development of the service sector, the use of unused opportunities.

The head of our state emphasized the need for a special approach to each region and gave specific examples of this. Based on the population size, geographical location and economic potential of regions and cities, 3 directions of development of the sphere have been identified.

The first direction is the development of services in 158 districts. In particular, priority will be given to tourism in 45 tourist areas and 40 mountainous areas.

For example, the villages of Navruz, Miraki, Okdaryo and Gissar in Shakhrisabz district are annually visited by about 500 thousand tourists. If 65 kilometers of roads are repaired, access to the Internet and mobile communications is improved, the volume of services here can be increased by 3-4 times. As a result, guest houses, retail and catering outlets will open, and additional jobs will be created.

The head of state emphasized the need to provide such areas with the necessary infrastructure and put up land plots for auction for the implementation of turnkey projects.

Also, instructions were given on the introduction of a special tax regime for the tourism industry, the allocation of preferential loans for the opening of guest houses.

It was noted that in 27 regions with developed industry priority will be given to services of trade, catering, logistics, hotels and entertainment establishments.

In areas with high agricultural incomes, emphasis will be placed on the development of modern agricultural services.

So, in Kamashi district, the Center for agricultural services and private veterinary clinics will be created. In the regional center, it is planned to build an eco-market with a cold storage facility for 200 tons and create a thousand jobs.

The khokims of the districts were instructed to develop similar programs on the example of Kamashi district.

As you know, next year in 21 districts will be built Yangi Uzbekiston massifs for 10 thousand families with schools, kindergartens and medical institutions. It was emphasized that this is an excellent opportunity for the development of service and trade.

Trade and logistics services will be specialized in 25 border districts and 100 districts, through which international highways and railways pass. Responsible persons were instructed to develop a roadside service development program, radically improve the infrastructure of checkpoints with neighboring countries and the roads leading to them.

In general, in these 158 regions there are conditions for the creation of 300 thousand jobs in the service sector.

The second direction is the development of modern market services in 29 medium and large cities, as well as 6 districts with a population of more than 300 thousand people.

In this regard, instructions were given for the efficient use of non-residential premises in multi-storey buildings, for auctioning land plots for lightweight structures.

It is no secret that there are not enough places in many city schools and preschool institutions. In this regard, tasks have been set to expand the coverage of private educational services, to allocate land for the construction of schools and kindergartens.

It was noted that, based on the experience of Tashkent region, in each region it is necessary to open IT academies to train young people in modern services.

In general, in these 35 cities and regions, it is planned to create 200 thousand jobs in the service sector.

In the third direction, a special program for the development of highly profitable services will be adopted in Tashkent, Samarkand and Namangan.

For example, in the Sergeli district of the capital, there is an opportunity to create 5,000 jobs in the field of trade and services through the creation of infrastructure along the elevated metro line. Alternatively, you can create art streets with shops for paintings, sculptures, handicrafts.

Responsible persons were instructed to improve the work of museums, expand their expositions and open new routes for tourists.

The increase in retail trade in such large cities as Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara will be facilitated by the introduction of the "tax free" system, a further increase in retail sales due to the opening of "duty dree" stores in the city. An instruction was given to work out the issue of organizing a system for refunding VAT for purchases to foreign tourists in all tourist cities.

In general, it is planned to create 750 thousand jobs in the service sector in Tashkent, Namangan and Samarkand.

Next year, US$500 million will be allocated for the implementation of projects in this sector.

Information from responsible persons was heard on the issues discussed at the meeting.