Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The main goal of economic reforms in the new year will be to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of the population. We intend to achieve these strategic goals through high rates of economic growth and creation of equal opportunities for all, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in his statement to the Parliament.

Over the past 4 years, serious steps have been taken to introduce market mechanisms in all sectors of our economy.

The challenge now is to lay the foundation for long-term sustainable growth through deep structural transformation.

With all this in mind, in the new year we have to carry out a lot of work in the following areas.

First. In the area of poverty reduction, we will introduce comprehensive approaches and new non-standard methods.

We need to clearly understand that the problem of poverty cannot be solved only by providing loans, providing social benefits or housing. This requires a comprehensive solution to issues related to education, health care, vocational training, access to clean drinking water, energy resources and road infrastructure.

Why have we introduced such an innovation in the field of social protection as the "iron notebook"? This makes it possible to more accurately determine who really needs help, and on this basis to organize targeted work with vulnerable groups of the population.

The "social register", which will be fully operational next year, will contain all information about needy families included in the "iron notebook" and will allow them to provide them with more than 30 types of social services in electronic form.

Above all, we need to meet the basic needs of the poor. The work on in-depth analysis of this issue, carried out together with international experts, is already close to completion.

From 1 March 2020, the minimum consumer spending will be announced.

The government is instructed to systematize social guarantees within two months and develop a program of measures for their phased provision at the level of minimum consumer spending.

A new mechanism based on the principle of “motivation, skills and financial support” will be introduced to lift everyone who is included in the “iron book” out of poverty.

The most important factor in overcoming poverty is the desire of the person himself to get out of this situation, relying on his own strength and moving towards a specific goal. Therefore, next year more than a thousand vocational training centers will be created in makhallas. The centers will be allocated funds at the rate of up to 1 million soums for each student of the courses, and in general, 100 billion soums will be allocated from the budget for these purposes. Those who graduate from training courses and want to start their own business will be able to receive subsidies in the amount of up to 7 million soums for the purchase of the necessary equipment.

Also, families engaged in agriculture will be allocated from 10 acres to 1 hectare of land, depending on the capabilities and specialization of each district. It is planned to allocate 500 billion soums from the funds for promoting employment and public works to ensure employment of the needy segments of the population.

We cannot allow people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic to become poor. Therefore, starting next year, a new system will be introduced, which provides for a threefold increase in the amount of temporary unemployment benefits, as well as the abolition of the outdated bureaucratic procedure for providing 6 documents to receive such benefits.

Assessment of the real situation with poverty in the regions, monitoring the implementation of the work carried out in this area should be in the focus of the chambers of the Oliy Majlis and local Kengashes.

All khokims of districts and cities should, within a month, develop a targeted program to reduce poverty on their territory and report on its implementation on a quarterly basis in local Kengashes and to the people through the media.

This should be the main task of all managers and a key criterion for evaluating their work.

Second. As part of structural reforms in the economy, it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of state-owned companies.

Currently, the majority of enterprises with the participation of the state remain a heavy burden for it due to their financial instability. Therefore, starting this year, the implementation of the reform program for all state-owned enterprises has begun. In particular, next year the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine, Uzbekneftegaz, Uzbekgidroenergo, Uzavtosanoat will be able to enter the international financial market and raise funds without state guarantees.

It should be recognized that the state-owned enterprises themselves do not have enough technical capabilities, and their specialists lack the knowledge and skills to independently carry out the transformation. Therefore, we involved the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Rothschild & Co in the reform of large enterprises in the electric power industry, oil and gas and chemical industries, mechanical engineering, as well as commercial banks. and other world famous companies.

In 2021, the transformation of 32 large enterprises in industries of strategic importance is to be carried out.

Our focus will be on the widespread introduction of digital technologies into the activities of banks.

We will prepare Sanoatkurilishbank, Asaka Bank, Ipoteka Bank, Aloka Bank, Turon Bank and Qishloq Qurilish Bank for privatization. The state share in at least one large bank will be fully sold to strategic investors. On this occasion, negotiations are underway with leading European banks.

An important direction of structural reforms is to reduce the presence of the state in the economy.

We began extensive work on the privatization of a number of enterprises with the involvement of international financial and legal consultants for a transparent and efficient sale of state assets. Next year, state shares in such enterprises as Ferghanaazot and Dekhkanabad Potash Fertilizers Plant, Coca-Cola Ichimligi, Beldersay and Charvak sanatoriums, Ichan Kalya and Hyatt Regency hotels will be put up for auction. business complex "Poytakht", as well as 83 large enterprises of the alcoholic, fat-and-oil industry and other industries.

In general, the number of enterprises with state participation in the next two years will decrease by at least 3 times.

Third. It is necessary to create a free competitive environment in the commodity and financial markets, as well as equal opportunities for entrepreneurs to access raw materials.

Today there are monopolies in the markets for electricity and gas, precious metals, mineral fertilizers, transport services, and many problems remain in these areas.

Here I would like to focus on the next question. As the economic activity and incomes of the population grow, the demand for energy resources also increases. Therefore, we need to complete the reforms in the oil and gas and energy sectors, as well as the implementation of large projects in these sectors. In particular, in 2021, the formation of a wholesale electricity market will begin with the participation of state and private power plants and consumers.

We will also abolish the monopoly and introduce market mechanisms in the supply of natural gas. Thus, producers and importers will have the right to sell, and wholesale consumers - to buy natural gas on the exchange. The Uztransgaz company will deal only with gas transportation.

In order to expand the presence of the private sector in the liquefied gas market, import duties will be canceled.

In the field of jewelry production, entrepreneurs will have ample opportunities to purchase raw materials. So, from 1 March 2020, the procedure for free sale of silver to producers through the exchange will be established.

Through the development of healthy competition in the automotive industry and the creation of a level playing field for enterprises in the field, the number of manufacturers will increase.

From 2021, excise taxes on 73 commodity items in the food, oil and electrical industries will be abolished.

One more question - today only 4 percent of entrepreneurs participate in public procurement.

Next year, the requirements for transparency in public procurement will be extended to 24 large state-owned enterprises. As a result, domestic entrepreneurs will be able to sell products to these enterprises for at least 10 trillion soums a year.

From now on, all government purchases will be under public and parliamentary control.

Fourth. Economic growth will be ensured primarily through the creation of competitive production chains and increased investment for these purposes.

According to research by Harvard University, our country has all the opportunities and relative advantages in the production of more than 50 industrial goods.

In particular, there are all conditions for the petrochemical, metallurgical, engineering, electrical, pharmaceutical, construction, textile, leather and footwear, food industries, as well as areas related to the "green economy", become the "drivers" of the national economy. It is necessary to take all measures to support the initiatives of the private sector and new projects, the development of cooperation in these sectors.

At present, industrial clusters for the production of decorative stone in Gazgan, ready-made clothes in Namangan, a technopark in Yashnabad district of Tashkent city and others demonstrate their effectiveness and advantages of this system.

The government is instructed to draw up a list of promising clusters and develop a special program for their accelerated development by 1 April 2021.

In the future, it is necessary to build up the potential to increase the production of industrial products “in the mode of processing in the customs territory”. At the same time, the participation of the state in the implementation of investment policy should be reduced and the share of private and direct investment should be increased.

In the field of geology, this year, at an open auction, investors were granted rights to 21 deposits and promising areas. In 2021, another 50 fields and promising sites will be sold to local and foreign investors on the basis of open tenders. We must continue similar work in other areas.

In general, for the next year we have set the task of assimilating investments in the amount of 23 billion dollars. As a result, 226 large industrial and infrastructure facilities will be commissioned in 2021. It is planned to launch two large hydrometallurgical plants at the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine, a plant for processing industrial waste at the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine. Also, hundreds of facilities for the production of textile, construction, leather and footwear, food and pharmaceutical products will be built throughout the country. Only in the Yashnabad Technopark of the city of Tashkent 11 modern electrical production facilities will be commissioned, thus their total number will reach 17, and the number of working personnel - 11 thousand.

New power plants with a total capacity of 760 megawatts will be put into operation in Tashkent, Navoi, Samarkand and Surkhandarya regions. An industrial complex worth US$3.6 billion and a capacity of 1.5 million tons of kerosene, diesel fuel and liquefied gas per year will start operating in the Kashkadarya region.

Fifth. Macroeconomic stability is a solid foundation for economic reforms.

In this regard, the key task of the Central Bank and the Government next year will be to keep inflation at a level of no more than 10 percent within the framework of inflation targeting.

The pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of serious attention to food security. To prevent a sharp rise in prices for basic foodstuffs, the privileges on customs duties on imports will be extended for another year.

Our people can be sure that the production of quality food, the creation of guaranteed stocks and the uninterrupted supply of food products to the market, as well as ensuring price stability will be given priority. The government and khokimiyats will take all necessary measures for this, and these issues will be under the constant control of the President.

Sixth. It is important to ensure that in 2021 our economy grows at least 5 percent, and the budget deficit does not exceed 5.4 percent of gross domestic product. The government should take the necessary measures to keep the figure below 2 percent over the next two years.

More than 3 years have passed since the liberalization of the foreign exchange market. During this period, the country has accumulated sufficient experience in the field of free currency conversion. Now we need to gradually reduce the dependence of our economy on foreign exchange. To do this, next year the share of foreign currency loans must be reduced from the current 50 to 45 percent, that is, by at least US$2 billion.

Next year, the share of international bonds issued in national currency should be increased from the current 25 percent to at least 40 percent. At the same time, the interbank foreign exchange market will be transferred to an online platform, which will allow entrepreneurs to buy currency directly from the bank. As a result, the purchase of foreign currency will take not 4 days from entrepreneurs, as it is now, but only half an hour.

One more question - at present, in accordance with the criteria of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the state external debt of Uzbekistan is at a safe level. From now on, projects implemented in the regions through external borrowing will be discussed by local Kengashes and the public. A system of reporting to the public on the results of such projects will be created.

Also, external borrowing under the guarantee of the state will decrease, and more private capital will be attracted to investment and infrastructure projects. For example, next year, on the basis of public-private partnership, it is planned to start implementing more than 40 large and medium-sized projects.

In order to increase competition in the financial market, the Central Bank is instructed to submit a draft law on non-bank credit organizations for consideration by 1 February.

The time has come to create a legal basis for the introduction of Islamic financial mechanisms in our country. For this, experts from the Islamic Development Bank and other international financial institutions will be involved.

Seventh. More favorable conditions will be created for the development of entrepreneurship and small business.

It should be noted that during the pandemic, entrepreneurs, along with the state, made a worthy contribution to the sustainable functioning of the economy. We must support entrepreneurs in every possible way. Ensuring their rights, especially the inviolability of private property, should become the main task of state bodies at all levels.

However, there are still facts of violation of property rights of entrepreneurs by some leaders and officials of state bodies. In this regard, I propose that the Business Ombudsman be empowered to bring such leaders to administrative responsibility.

Next year, on the basis of the principle of "Tax officer is an assistant", entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to obtain information about the presence of tax debts from their business partners.

For the convenience of entrepreneurs, 105 types of licenses and permits will be canceled, procedures for obtaining 115 types of such documents will also be simplified. 

We will continue to help our entrepreneurs who face a working capital shortage amid the pandemic. Until the end of next year, benefits in tourism, transport and public catering will be extended. I also propose to extend the deadline for paying taxes on land and property for a total of US$400 billion for another year. This preference will be able to take advantage of 20 thousand entrepreneurs. 

In addition, for state purchases in the amount of up to 1 billion soums, the amount of advance payments for entrepreneurs will increase to 30 percent of the transaction value, due to which their working capital will increase by up to 1.5 trillion soums. 

In general, 6 trillion soums of soft loans will be allocated next year to continue work on financial support for entrepreneurship within the framework of programs to promote family entrepreneurship. Another US$100 million will be allocated by the Government to expand the Rural Entrepreneurship Development Program, implemented in partnership with the World Bank. 

It is planned to revise about 5 thousand normative legal acts regulating entrepreneurial activity, reduce their number, and develop an Entrepreneurial Code. 

As you know, 4 years ago we declared a moratorium on inspections of business entities. As a result, the number of entrepreneurs has doubled and reached 400 thousand. In this regard, I propose to extend the moratorium for another year. 

Along with this, the Government needs to create equal conditions in the market and fully support honest entrepreneurs, I repeat - honestly and conscientiously working on the basis of modern technologies, and at the same time introduce mechanisms to reduce the shadow economy. 

Eighth. A factor in accelerating the achievement of the targets for reducing poverty and increasing rural incomes is a dramatic increase in agricultural productivity and efficiency. 

Here, the priority task is to increase the profitability of a hectare of land from the current average of 2 thousand dollars to at least 5 thousand dollars. For this, it is necessary to widely introduce the most advanced scientific developments and innovations into agriculture, including agricultural technologies, water-saving technologies, biotechnologies, and the achievements of seed production. 

First of all, it is necessary to increase the interest of farmers and dehkans in the cultivation of the land. Where there is interest and justice, there will be change and growth. In this context, it is time to consider securing land use rights and making them a marketable asset.

Within two months, the government must submit a proposal to strengthen land rights, determine the economic valuation of land and introduce mechanisms for including it in the financial turnover.

Next year, Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Centers will be established in all regions, providing more than 100 types of agricultural services on a one-stop basis, including such important services as improving soil conditions, combating plant diseases, and selecting seeds.

For the first time, more than US$600 million will be attracted in the form of loans and grants to modernize agriculture, digitize it, increase land fertility, and introduce modern agricultural technologies. The area of land where water-saving technologies have been introduced will increase fivefold - up to 430 thousand hectares. Another 90 thousand hectares of land will be developed for agricultural needs.

Ninth. All khokims of regions, districts and cities at the beginning of 2020 for the first time reported to local Kengashes about the work done and further plans.

The biggest drawback in our work today is the lack of knowledge, which, unfortunately, is felt in all areas. Indeed, without modern knowledge, it is impossible to develop a single region or a single industry. This is evidenced by the fact that in developed countries more than 50 percent of the gross domestic product is created through the "knowledge economy", that is, innovation and highly qualified personnel.

From now on, each village and makhalla will develop taking into account their specifics, identifying their "points of growth". To this end, I propose to create a Regional Infrastructure Development Fund with a budget of 3 trillion soums next year. Its funds will be used to co-finance infrastructure projects proposed by local Kengashes.

In addition, 100 technology parks, small industrial zones, regional clusters and logistics centers will be created to develop industrial potential in 84 districts and cities.

Next year, 1.6 trillion soums will be allocated to create the necessary infrastructure in free economic and small industrial zones.

The Government is faced with the task, by 1 April 2021, to approve a program of phased renewal in the regions of 130 thousand kilometers of low voltage power lines and over 40 thousand transformers.

A program will be adopted that provides for the restoration of more than 5 thousand bridges in need of repair. It is planned to allocate 400 billion soums for this work in 2021.

Another important issue is the implementation of the Obod Kishlok and Obod Mahalla programs, within the framework of which the appearance of 1,200 mahallas and villages with a population of about 5 million people has radically changed over the past 3 years. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to suspend work in this direction.

Within a month, the government needs to develop and approve the Obod Kishlok and Obod Mahalla programs for 2021. Provide funding for these programs from the republican and local budgets in equal shares.

It should be noted that international financial institutions have also expressed their readiness to allocate US$270 million for these programs.

One of the important factors in the development of regions is the provision of transport links between them.

We need to create an interconnected transport network that will allow us to quickly reach the capital, major cities and tourist centers from all settlements of the country. Based on this, the Government is tasked with launching domestic flights on tourist routes from 1 March 2020 and introducing a system of partial compensation from the budget for the cost of air tickets.

In addition, a number of regional airports will be outsourced through public-private partnerships.

Next year, it is planned to launch 2 high-speed trains, and electrification of the Bukhara-Urgench-Khiva railway will begin.

By attracting the private sector, the number of bus routes between settlements, especially villages and regional centers, will be increased.

In Tashkent, the second stage of the surface metro construction will be completed and a 12-kilometer section will be commissioned. As a result, underground and surface metro lines will be connected and form a single system.

In 2021, we will continue consistent reforms to develop tourism. Special attention will be paid to pilgrimage and domestic tourism.

Funds in the amount of 1 trillion soums will be allocated from the budget for the improvement of territories, the development of water and road infrastructure around tourist facilities

Tenth. Next year, we will further strengthen the social protection of the population.

There is a step-by-step transition to the "social model" of the definition of disability corresponding to world standards.

A new system will be introduced to provide those in need with prosthetic and orthopedic products and rehabilitation means. This opportunity will be able to use about 50 thousand citizens.

The scale of work to provide housing for low-income families will expand. Thus, 2.4 trillion soums will be allocated for making an initial payment and subsidizing payments on interest on mortgage loans for 27 thousand families - this is 2.5 times more families than this year.

Eleventh. Entering new export markets will remain one of the most important tasks of the Government.

Next year it is necessary to intensify work on joining the World Trade Organization and large-scale cooperation with the European Union.

A separate program should be developed for the effective use of the preferences of the "GSP +" system in our country.

As you know, Uzbekistan recently received observer status in the Eurasian Economic Union. For a full-scale presence in the markets of the member states of this organization, we need to accelerate the work on bringing national technical regulations in line with their requirements.

In the new year, US$100 million will be allocated to enterprises from the Export Support Fund for the purchase of raw materials and the production of export-oriented products.

Exporters will be reimbursed 50 percent of the costs of opening trading houses and stores, advertising costs abroad. 

In general, the Government has been tasked to increase the volume of exports of goods and services by at least 20 percent next year.