he Bukhara Region police department's investigation officer, identified as Ahadjon Ernazarov, has been sentenced to 12 years for bribe-taking, the Uzbek newspaper `Ishonch' reported on 25th April. The paper said that the officer had demanded 3,000 dollars from a woman who had been released from custody under an amnesty. Initially he had taken 2,000 dollars and later "officers of the Regional prosecutor's office caught him red-handed in receiving another 400 dollars".

zbek President Islam Karimov is to head Uzbekistan's delegation to the first Eurasia economic summit which is to be held in Almaty between 26th and 28th April under the aegis of the Davos World Economic Forum, the summit organizers told an informal meeting of the heads of local and foreign media organizations.

The summit organizers said that Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev had confirmed they would attend. The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, will make the opening speech at the forum. Moreover, according to the summit organizers, other CIS countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Tajikistan, and Iran and Turkey from countries outside the CIS, will also be presented at the level of government delegations.

As was reported earlier, during the summit the official presentation will take place of the special UN programme for Central Asian economies (SPECA [to promote economic integration amongst them and with Europe and Asia]), which is to be carried out in conjunction with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific Ocean and the UN European Economic Commission. Issues relating to implementing the TRACECA programme, the setting up of a Europe-Caucasus-Central Asia corridor in the context of the revival of the Great Silk Road, will also be discussed.

zbek President Islam Karimov paid an official visit to China at the end of the previous year [1999]. During his tour of the country he met managers of various major companies, including CITIC [Heavy Machinery Co Ltd], a known big investment company, which produces transport equipment. The company took part in building underground lines in various foreign capitals.

Some time later a group of CITIC specialists, led by the company's vice-president, (Dzhou Peyu), visited Uzbekistan. The guests studied the prospects of developing the Tashkent underground. Their visit resulted in the signing of a contract between CITIC and the Tashkent city government. Under the contract, the Chinese company will take part in the construction of a 8.2 km underground line linking the operating Sobir Rahimov underground station with the Sergeli line.

The Tashkent underground chief engineer, Rinat Ormonov, told our correspondent about some details of the contract to build new underground sections.

"Technical and financial details of the construction of the new line, which we will start in 2003, are being currently worked out by the Tashkent Underground Design Institute. The project is supervised by the institute's chief engineer, B. Mirahmedov. The line will include six stations, four of which will be built above the ground because of the closeness of subsoil waters. For the same reason the underground tunnels will not be deep either. Besides, there will be no need to pull down any buildings and facilities along the line. The construction will be financed from the state budget.

"We are interested in investments by the Chinese company because this is economically beneficial for Uzbekistan. According to the draft protocol, [expected Chinese] credits can be repaid within 10 years. The parties are now specifying the volume of credits. These credits can be used to buy a 40-car modern and comfortable train, power supply and signalling equipment, centralizing and interlocking systems, tele- and radiocommunication equipment, sound amplifiers and other equipment from the CITIC company. Part of the investments can also be used for building and fitting work,"[he said].

arliament of Uzbekistan, Oliy Majlis, decreed to hold its second session on May 25 this year. The following drafts will be under consideration of the new parliament:

1. On priorities of legislative and monitoring work of committees and commissions of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2000-2004 proceeding from the speech of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Kaimov, at the first session of the Supreme Assembly of the second convocation.

2. On the implementation of the state budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1999 and for the first quarter of 2000.

3. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan On guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurship.

4. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on licensing certain types of activity.

5. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the ecology.

6. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on physical culture and sport, new edition.

7. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the external economic activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan - new edition.

8. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on auditing - new edition.

9. Draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on civil defence.

nstallation and assembly of equipment, mechanisms and other machinary have started at the new workshops of the Tashkent passenger carriage repair plant. The enterprise is being built under an investment project which is financed by the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, in conjunction with the state joint stock company Ozbekiston Temir Yollari [Uzbek railways].

In his interview with a Turkiston Press National News Agency correspondent, the head of the Tashkent passenger carriage repair plant and the project's manager, Farruh Dadakhojayev, said the fund allocated a low-interest credit of 6,102,000,000 yen. The credit has been granted for 30 years, with repayment starting in 2006. The funds are being used for buying 25 new passanger carriages, spare parts for the carriages under use, and for acquiring the most modern equipment for the plant. The Uzbek side's share is construction of workshops.

It is planned that the plant will be commissioned late in 2000. It will repair 450 carriages per year. Period of recoupment is eight years. In the future the plant is going to assembly carriages from spare parts, which is considerably cheaper than buying new ones.

n the first quarter of this year, traffic accidents in the Uzbek eastern Andizhan Region dropped by 12.2 per cent as compared to the same period last year, Uzbek newspaper `Adolat' reported on 21st April. Andizhan Region borders onto Kyrgyzstan and traffic police "prevented illegal export of goods worth 6,840,623 soms in the first three months of this year", the report said.

There were 84 registered cases of the illegal export of nonferrous metals. Police seized over 15 tonnes of various types of scrap metal, and instituted 16 criminal proceedings, the paper added.

government commission on improving the mechanisms of payments and reinforcing budget payments has held a regular meeting at the Cabinet of Ministers with the participation of the heads of ministries, departments, corporations, concerns, companies, associations and other organizations.

The commission noted that as a result of specific measures taken to reduce mutual debts the delayed payments of 22 main ministries, departments and economic associations, which were being monitored, was reduced to 996.8m soms by 1st March against 1,321.1m soms in 1st January 2000 (by 24.5 per cent).

akistan's Peshawar became a venue early in April for a secret get-together of Islamic terrorists, including Chechen rebel leaders, an unidentified adviser to presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky told Tass on Wednesday. The meeting brought together about 100 Uzbek, Tajik, Uigur, and Chechen extremist chieftains and propaganda leaders, the official said.

According to him, the gathering included members of organizations supporting Chechen fighters and was attended by a "plenipotentiary of the government of Ichkeria," (name for the republic used by Chechens) who urged the delegates to send misleading signals about the Chechen rebel leaders' location.

The meeting ended in the decision to ensure interaction and hold propaganda campaigns, including one in Azerbaijan that is currently accommodating around 8,000 Chechens to arouse sympathies for the Chechen fighters' cause.

resident of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov will pay a state visit to India on May 1-3 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Kocheril Raman Narayanan.

court in eastern Uzbek Namangan Region has sentenced a policeman to death for shooting dead one person and badly injuring two others, Fergana Region's `Kriminalnyye Vesti Fergany' newspaper reported on 11th April.

The incident happened on 3rd November 1999. The policeman, named as Anvarjon Mahmudov, left his post outside a bank building in the centre of Yangikurgan District, drunk vodka with a friend, then shot him dead and injured two passers-by. At the trial Mahmudov said he was acting in self-defence. "The defendant said he had done all that to defend himself from some attackers," the paper said.

"Experts say the shots were fired from the distance of three-four metres. After the first shot the policeman for some reason reloaded his pistol, which means nobody was holding him. Then he fired a series of shots at the people around," the paper said.

zbek President Islam Karimov issued a decree on 28th April, granting "favourable conditions" to attract foreign investment in the country's oil and gas sector. The decree, as read out on Uzbek TV the same day, stipulates that oil and gas deposits in the Ustyurt area of northwestern Uzbekistan are to be priorities for oil and gas exploitation. Foreign companies engaged in prospecting will be given preferential treatment, exclusive rights and exemption from certain taxes and dues for a set period, and will be granted "the right of ownership and unimpeded conveyance of part of the extracted hydrocarbons" in accordance with the terms of joint venture contracts or concessional agreements. The decree also states that the Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers has the right to grant additional privileges and concessions without contests and tenders. The Uzbek Oil and Gas holding company is appointed the authorized body in charge of regulating prospecting and extraction of oil and gas and responsible for issuing licences and concessions.

hree Uzbek border guards have been blown up by an anti-personnel mine in the area of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. A source in the power-wielding agencies in the south of Kyrgyzstan said on 27th April that two soldiers and and one officer from Uzbekistan's border troops were blown up by an anti-personnel mine which exploded several metres from the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border in Batken Region (south of Kyrgyzstan), [scene of hostage crisis in August 1999]. The border guard officer died at the scene and one of the soldiers died on the way to the local hospital.

Kyrgyz border guards said the mine had been laid by Uzbek servicemen. The reason for the tragedy seems to be that the Uzbek border guard detail did not have a map of their own mine fields.

n line with a Cabinet of Ministers resolution of 28th April 2000 on improving accounting procedure involving currency and export-import operations, the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan announces the following:

For conducting accounting, taxation, and statistical and other types of accounting involving currency operations and calculating customs and other compulsory payments, the Central Bank will on a weekly basis announce new exchange rates, adjusted in line with the outcome of foreign currency transactions in the domestic currency market and off-exchange, and in line with the dynamics of money supply and inflation.

For conducting accounting, statistical and other types of accounting involving currency operations and for customs payments the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan has set the Uzbek currency at 231 soms to the dollar, effective as of 1st May 2000.

The Central Bank set the official exchange rate of the som against the dollar 17th April at 148.82 dollars; there are also other, commercial, exchange rates which apply.

he first consignment of equipment and instructions for the Uzbek-US joint venture UzExide have arrived at a Dzhizak plant manufacturing car batteries. The plant, by using modern technology will manufacture acid batteries, the head of the electric appliances department, Shavkat Tolaganov, told a Turkiston National Information Agency correspondent.

The US company Exide AB group Ltd [Apparently a subsidiary of Exide Corporation which produces automotive batteries] have a 85 per cent share in the authorized capital. The remaining 15 per cent comes from the Uzbek Car Industry association. The enterprise will manufacture 1,000,000 batteries per year and process 8,000 tonnes of scrap of lead.

The project is expected to into operation within 24 months. The association announced a tender for constructing the plant and a number of local and foreign building companies, including from the United States, Turkey and Israel have shown an interest in the project.

Once the plants goes into operation its output will fully meet the deman in the country for batteries of virtually all kinds, from batteries for light cars and lorries to batteries for buses and tractors. The US partner pledges to sell half of the manufactured batteries. The contract concluded with the US company Exide AB group Ltd, stipulates that the company, apart from delivery of equipment and instructions, will also undertakes to train qualified staff, a part of which will be trained in Europe and the United States, said Shavkat Tolaganov in conclusion.

ussian President-elect Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Islam Karimov discussed by telephone today some aspects of practical interaction between their countries, including multilateral cooperation. The conversation was part of a regular exchange of views between the two leaders on salient bilateral issues and the situation in Central Asia, the Russian president's press service said.

raw and fixtures for the Asian Cup finals to be played in Lebanon (kickoff times GMT):

Group C (Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar, Uzbekistan)

Fixtures (to be played in Saida):

Saturday, October 14 Saudi Arabia v Japan (1500) Qatar v Uzbekistan (1730)

Tuesday, October 17 Japan v Uzbekistan (1500) Saudi Arabia v Qatar (1730)

Friday, October 20 Saudi Arabia v Uzbekistan (1500) Japan v Qatar (1730)

nder Appendix No 2 to the 24th March resolution by the Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers obliging nonresidents to pay for all services, including air tickets, in foreign currency, enterprises providing payable services to nonresidents must open foreign currency accounts with authorized banks and must sell 50 per cent of their foreign currency recepts to the state. Invoices for all transactions must be filled out in triplicate, with one copy for the authorized bank handling the transaction. Nonresidents may pay for services in foreign currency cash, by bank transfer or by debit or credit card, the exchange rate being the official rate set by the Central Bank as at the date of payment. The following is the text of the appendix, as published in `Biznes-Vestnik Vostoka' on 27th April:

Appendix No 2 to the Cabinet of Ministers' resolution No103 of 24th March 2000 on the procedure for rendering payable services to physical persons who are nonresidents on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

1. General provisions

1.1. This procedure determines the conditions for rendering payable services envisaged in Appendix No1 to Cabinet of Ministers' Decree No.103 of 24th March 2000 (on the regulations for rendering payable services to private individuals who are non-residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan) by enterprises, organizations and establishments on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

1.2. This procedure deems as as nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan physical persons - foreign citizens, including citizens of CIS member-states, as well as those without citizenship - who do not have a permit for residence on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan issued under the established procedure, or a permanent residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

1.3. When individuals, both residents and nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan, apply for payable services they are obliged to present documents identifying their identity and citizenship, as well as documents confirming their place of residence (national passport, army-service card or a personal identity card - for servicemen, residence permit or identity card of a person without citizenship).

2. Procedure of payment for services by private individuals who are nonresidents on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan

2.1. Tariffs for payable services to physical persons who are nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan are set by enterprises, organizations and establishments rendering these services on the basis of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the legislative enactments relating to the given field of the economy, converted into freely convertible currency at the official rate of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan as at the date of payment.

2.2. Enterprises, organizations and establishments rendering payable services to private individuals who are nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan can under established procedure open special foreign currency accounts at the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity, Asaka Bank and Uzpromstroybank [Uzbek industrial construction bank] without preliminary state registration at the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as a participant in foreign economic relations.

If trade export-import operations are carried out, enterprises, organizations and establishments shall be registered as participants in foreign economic relations under the established procedure.

2.3. Nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan make payments for the services rendered through departments (or exchange offices) of the banks mentioned above on the basis of invoices for payable services rendered, issued by enterprises, organizations and establishments. The payment can be made in cash in freely convertible currency, by transfer from the currency accounts of private individuals who are nonresidents opened at authorized banks of the Republic of Uzbekistan, or in foreign banks, and also by debit and credit cards.

Enterprises of the Uzbekturizm [Uzbektourism] national company render tourist and additional services to foreign tourists for freely convertible currency in accordance with the procedure for rendering services to foreign tourists for freely convertible currency approved by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan under Decree NoYII-2286 issued by the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 15th April 1999.

2.4. The invoices are issued in triplicate, signed by heads of enterprises, organizations and establishments and certified by a stamp. One copy remains in the accounts departments of enterprises, organizations and establishments, the second is presented to the bank for the payment and the third remains with the payer.

2.5. The invoice indicates the date and number of the invoice;

- the name of the enterprise, organization and establishment, rendering payable services to the private individual who is a nonresident;

- the name of the bank where the enterprise, organization and establishment has a special currency account for making payments for the services rendered and the number of this account;

- the name of the bank where a som account has been opened and the account (off-budget) number;

- the surname, first name and patronymic of the private individual who is nonresident and his citizenship;

- the type of services rendered

- the tariff in soms for each type of service rendered.

2.6. Receiving the payment in hard currency in accordance with the invoices presented, the banks issue to nonresidents bank receipts for the payment made in hard currency for the services rendered in the form established by the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, indicating the name of the enterprise, organization and establishment, the number of the invoice and number of the special currency account, date and sum paid in soms and freely convertible currency, and the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank as at the date of payment. Receipts are issued in triplicate copies, one is kept by the client, the second is presented to the accounts department of the servicing enterprise, organization and establishment and the third remains with the bank.

The bank must present copies of invoices and receipts at the request of the tax and financial bodies.

2.7. Fifty per cent of currency receipts paid in to special currency accounts must obligatorily be sold to the Central Bank.

Obligatory sale of currency receipts received by enterprises, organizations and establishments for payable services carried out on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan is performed by banks independently. All transactions connected with the obligatory sale, transactions involving the transfer of the som and currency equivalent to bank accounts of enterprises and organizations are to be handled by banks within three working days.

Enterprises, organizations and establishments providing payable services to nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan dispose independently of the freely convertible currency transferred to their special currency accounts, after they have carried out the obligatory sale of part of the currency receipts.

2.8. If the volume of services to nonresidents in freely convertible currency is changed, the sides are to draw up a statement on mutual payments between the customer and the enterprise, organization and establishment which render services. Should the need arise to return part of the money paid, the funds are returned in line with a document directly to the payer through the serving bank in accordance with the established procedure and in freely convertible currency, in the amount of the services paid for but not rendered, from the funds of the enterprise, organization and establishment.

2.9. Enterprises, organizations and establishments, irrespective of their form of ownership, must keep a register of currency receipts in line with the existing legislation. Second copies of invoices and statements on mutual payments issued for customers are kept in the accounts department of the enterprise, organization and establishment and are stored according to established procedure.

3. Specific aspects of the procedure under which physical persons who are nonresidents pay for air services and other related services.

3.1. Air companies, including foreign representative offices, will render air and other related services to physical persons who are nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan independently or through their agents: in cash - through special cash desks, which obligatorily pay in currency receipts daily to the authorized bank;

- by transfer from currency accounts of physical persons who are nonresidents of the Republic of Uzbekistan opened at authorized banks of the Republic of Uzbekistan or at foreign banks, as well as by using debit and credit cards.

3.2. Air companies which are residents and their agents also have the right to sell air transport for freely convertible currency to physical persons who are residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan when selling tickets for air transport which is carried out by foreign companies, in cases when the points of departure and arrival are beyond the borders of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In this case the air company which is a resident is obliged to sell 50 per cent of the foreign currency it receives as a commission fee.

3.3. Tariffs for rendering services are formed by air companies independently in line with the existing legislation, legal enactments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and standards for the industry; foreign companies are to do this in line with the legislation of their countries and international agreements.

3.4. Registration and reporting on the circulation of currency funds will be carried out in line with existing legislation, legal enactments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and also international agreements.

4. Responsibility and supervision.

4.1. The heads of enterprises, organizations and establishments are personally responsible for observing the requirements of the present procedure, for the quality of services rendered and the correctness of collecting payment for services rendered.

4.2. Sanctions are imposed in line with existing legislation on enterprises, organizations and establishments for violating the requirements of the present procedure, and their heads and officials will be made answerable as envisaged by the law.

4.3. Supervision over the quality of services rendered and the level of tariffs, as well as observance of the licensing conditions, is carried out by authorized agencies in line with existing legislation.

4.4. The authorized banks will supervise that payments relating to the obligatory sale of the part of currency receipts received for rendering services to enterprises, organizations and establishments are carried out correctly and on time.

4.5. Supervision over the observance of the requirements of the present procedure and the completeness and correctness of transferring currency receipts received for services rendered to physical persons who are nonresidents is carried out by tax agencies and financial bodies in respect of enterprises, organizations and establishments financed from the budget.