Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- One of the key topics raised by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his speech at the third consultative meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia was cooperation in the fight against the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection.

In particular, in order to jointly overcome the negative consequences of the coronavirus, the head of Uzbekistan put forward several important initiatives - the launch of a unified regional information system for the recognition of test results and vaccination certificates, expanding the exchange of experience in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, as well as training medical workers. establishment of scientific cooperation in the field of pharmacology and cooperation in the production of vital drugs.

The demand for these proposals is directly dictated by global trends in the health sector. As you know, the crisis caused by the pandemic has swept through all countries, provoking an increase in various socio-economic problems.

According to the general opinion of experts, it was the absence of a solid system of collective response to crisis situations that led to such an acute deterioration of the epidemiological situation. At the same time, despite the extreme urgency of this issue, today there is not a deep enough interaction between the medical institutions of the countries of the region, specializing in the fight against epidemiological diseases. This explains the vital importance of the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan in this area.

At the same time, the intensification of cooperation in the sanitary and epidemiological sphere will allow the countries of the region to:

first, to accelerate the restoration of diversified trade, economic and humanitarian ties through mutual recognition of test results and vaccination certificates;

secondly, to conduct a holistic monitoring of the epidemiological situation, as well as develop coordinated measures to combat various outbreaks of diseases;

third, to strengthen cooperation between scientific expert communities in the field of joint fundamental and applied scientific research in epidemiology;

fourthly, to increase the efficiency of the exchange of experience on modern methods of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, as well as to establish the practice of passing mutual internships;

fifthly, to establish cooperation in the field of pharmacology and the production of vital drugs aimed at combating such diseases.

It should be noted that since the first outbreak of the pandemic, the Central Asian countries began to provide mutual humanitarian support, which allowed them to effectively deal with the consequences of the pandemic.

So, in 2019, in Kubodiyon district of Khatlon region of Tajikistan, on the basis of a medical complex built by Uzbekistan, a distributor for patients with suspected COVID-19 was opened. The equipment installed in it makes it possible to establish the presence of a coronavirus infection in a person in the shortest possible time.

Also, in May 2020, the Uzbek side sent a group of medical workers with extensive experience in treating patients with coronavirus to Tajikistan.

In addition, Uzbekistan fully funded the construction and equipping of modular hospitals to combat COVID-19 in three regions of Kyrgyzstan.

Other countries in the region have taken similar steps to help countries in need at peak pressures on their health systems.

Thus, Uzbekistan not only comes up with very timely initiatives, but also ensures the practical implementation of measures to effectively counter and collectively overcome common challenges, including those associated with the negative consequences of COVID-19.

Bakhromjon Sotiboldiev,

Head of Department of the Institute

strategic and interregional studies

under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan