Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 11 March 2020, Ambassador of Uzbekistan Javlon Vahabov in Washington met with James Carafano, vice president of international relations at the US Research Institute Heritage Foundation, and Ambassador Terry Miller and senior consultant Anthony Kim.

The Heritage Foundation is an independent research institute that engages in a wide range of international politics research. Founded in 1973, the Foundation has a significant impact on American public policy and is considered one of the most influential conservative research organizations in the United States. Since 1995, the Fund annually publishes the Index of Economic Freedom, which guides most Wall Street companies and businesses from around the world in assessing the risks of doing business in a country. In 2019, Uzbekistan ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the Index of Economic Freedom, gaining 53.3 points.

During the meeting, representatives of the Fund were informed about measures taken in the country for all 12 quantitative and qualitative indicators of the index: protection of property rights, freedom from corruption, freedom of business, fiscal freedom, financial freedom, freedom of labor, freedom of trade and investment, state social expenses and others .

According to representatives of the Fund, in Uzbekistan during this period significant results were achieved in the field of ensuring economic freedoms, especially in the field of liberalization of the foreign exchange market, simplification of business and investment activities, and protection of property rights. In the context of the country’s structural reforms, James Carafano welcomed the country’s significant achievements in maintaining macroeconomic stability and accelerating the transition to a competitive market economy.

One of the main compilers of the Index, Andrew Kim, stressed that in the soon-to-be-published new Index of Economic Freedom, the position of Uzbekistan will be significantly improved, reflecting the progress of large-scale reforms and transformations in the country.

During the meeting, the prospects for the participation of the head of the diplomatic mission as a speaker in the annual Resource Bank Meeting, a meeting of representatives of political circles, leading expert and analytical centers and influential businessmen on sustainable economic development, improving the efficiency of public administration, and improving social partnership models, were discussed. According to James Carafano, at the moment the event is scheduled for 26-28 May in New York.

The developers of the Index of Economic Freedom expressed readiness to hold consultations with representatives of the ministries of finance, economy, investment and foreign trade of Uzbekistan to discuss a package of recommendations for further improving the rating of the republic.

As a result of the meeting, an agreement was reached on organizing a visit of representatives of the Heritage Foundation to Uzbekistan as the epidemiological situation in the world improves.