wo people have died of poisoning at a chemical plant in the city of Navoi in southwestern Uzbekistan. A mass poisoning occurred in a department of the Navoiazot plant, a source in the Uzbek Emergencies Ministry has told Interfax. Two people died as a result of the accident. A special committee at the level of the republic is now investigating the details of the accident. However, it is already known that the accident took place on a technological line and was caused by non-observance of safety rules by the workers themselves.

n an exclusive interview given to the progovernment Uzbek newspaper 'Fidokor', Uzbek President Islam Karimov has dwelt on the need to form a national independence ideology and its importance in all aspects of the country's life. President Karimov said the country must avoid an "ideological vacuum" because this, in particular, was the reason for the presence of "certain current negative phenomena and unworthy and evil actions" in the country. Karimov said a national independence ideology would "undoubtedly" help the young people who "knowingly or unknowingly went astray, lost their ways in daylight and are dancing to the music played abroad". He said the country's national values had survived for so long "thanks to our holy religion". Still on the same theme Karimov added that Islam had become an "important part" of life in Uzbekistan and its "humanitarian ideas" and that a healthy attitude to religion should "also be cleverly reflected" in the national independence ideology. He also focused on political and economic issues. Karimov spoke of the need to "liberalize all aspects of political life, ensure the principles of democracy, freedom of thought and consciousness" and "to create a multi-party environment which is a necessary condition of democracy". Karimov added that it was important to "extensively develop free and independent media" as an "influencial" means of "realizing citizens' rights and freedoms". The following are excerpts published the Uzbek newspaper 'Fidokor' on 8th June:

[Question] Esteemed president, in your work you have been looking at issues of a national idea and national ideology as priority areas. For example, at your recent meeting with the intelligentsia at the Oqsaroy residence the role of the national independence ideology in our life and issues of formulating its major principles were included on the agenda in a very serious way. Why?

[Karimov] It is necessary to make one thing clear before speaking about this: ideology has always, not only today, been the most pressing social and political issue, and a basis for uniting any society in its move towards a healthy and good wishes and for providing spiritual and moral strength in achieving its goals.

Looking back at history we see that in the past strong states openly invaded weak countries and dominated them while at the end of the 20th century politics took on a new form. Today, strong states and certain political centres with the aim of reaching their own goals are in the first instance trying to influence the minds of all the population of the countries they want to occupy or bring under their sphere of influence.

[Q] What is prompting this raising of the national ideology to the level of a vital necessity?

[A] As known, we rejected the false communist ideas which contradicted our national features and centuries-old traditions and customs. But, undoubtedly, one cannot allow a vacuum in the world of ideology; otherwise ideas absolutely alien to us and our aspirations will try to occupy that empty ideological space.

The issue is, if we look deeper at the reality around us we cannot but acknowledge that there are various forces staring at our land, rich in natural resources and located in a territory very favourable from the geopolitical point of view. Today, it is clear that they would stop at nothing to realize their own goals.

These forces have large sums of money and modern arms at their disposal. But their most dangerous weapon is a destructive ideology not suitable for our national values, and worst of all - able to poison the hearts and minds of the young generation who must replace us tomorrow.

Certain current negative phenomena and unworthy and evil actions are taking place first and foremost because of an ideological vacuum. Because, young people who do not yet have life experience or unable to distinguish between good and bad are usually very susceptible to various influences.

Take, for example, religious extremism leading some young people astray. This dangerous trend has its own history. In particular, in the late 1980s certain individuals came to our country introducing themselves as "friends", "fellow believers" or "of the same nationality" and allegedly "calling" for a struggle for purity of the Islamic religion. They tried to trap ordinary people who do not know the real essence of our holy religion and "green" youngsters and spread alien religious dogmas.

Of course, the necessary measures were taken to prevent that work. But there were also those who were benevolent to them because of their naiveness. It is known that our nation, especially our young people, are open-hearted, simple, trustful and modest. They have strong feelings of respect for elders and strive for our holy religion. Because the education of our faithful people and their outlook have been influenced by numerous saints who lived in our land which is blessed by Allah and their sacred shrines.

It is necessary to pay serious attention to another point. I briefly talked about the danger of religious extremism posing a threat to our region. These threats also include narcobusiness, illegal trade of arms and terrorism. But there are also such instruments of ideological influence in the world which look harmless and free of politics and which we very often pay inadequate attention to.

Take, for example, thrillers which have been shown frequently in recent years. Many people, especially the young, watch them with great interest because people by nature are inclined to watch such noisy things. There are even boys and girls who blindly like to imitate the heroes of such films because they do not fully realize the grave consequences of what they are undertaking under the influence of such fictions. Unfortunately, our television is also trying more than enough to show such films.

When speaking about the political and state structure of our country it is worth noting the following features. That is:

To liberalize all aspects of political life, ensure the principles of democracy, freedom of thought and consciousness, humanist ideas and common values in the society.

To create a multi-party environment which is a necessary condition of democracy. As I noted earlier, a multi-party structure in practice means debates between various opinions and ideas and a theatre of political rivalry for various parties including opposition parties.

To create a national democratic statehood on the basis of constitutional principle in the course of division of the legislative and executive powers and the court.

To extensively develop free and independent media which are an influencial means of realizing citizens' rights and freedoms, playing the role of public control and aimed at increasing the people's political, legal and economic thinking.

The economic basis of the society being built in Uzbekistan is socially orientated market economy.

The tasks of our economy at the present stage also include the creation of market infrastructures - funds and wholesale markets, stock exchanges, marketing, engineering, leasing, consulting and insurance companies and other structures called to render services to entrepreneurs, to form a developed financial and banking system, increase banking opportunities to return credits and increase their charter capitals by attracting free assets, turn the banks and other financial instituitions into a main part of the investments processes.

Our most important task in this sphere is to increase the country's export potential, to take an active part in the international labour distribution on the basis of principles of equality and mutual benefit, wide integration into the world economic relations and through this take a deserved place in the international community.

When speaking about the creation of a national ideology we first of all have to deeply realize that it is not a task which to be fulfilled in a year or five-to-ten years. The people, the nation improves and enriches its national ideology throughout its life. Because ideology is not a collection of frozen dogmas. It is a continuous process and as life goes on, its swift progress sets new tasks to the ideology. That is, it is necessary to work regularly in order tio create a national ideology which meets the nation's interests and requiring constant changes and renewals.

But such an ideology should embrace the ideas and feelings of everyone, let me say, every farmer, worker or office worker and intellectual, and provide it with a spirit of creation. It is not easy to express aspirations of millions of people and the sense of their lives. For this we must have a good understanding of the law of dialectics, that is the issue of expressing in harmony the aspirations of one person and the whole nation. It is nothing but a illusion to think that an ideology worked out in quiet offices can by itself be absorbed by life and all its aspects.

Also take the issue of religion which is very delicate and complicated. If they ask me, why our national values have survived for centuries without decaying, I would say that first and foremost it is thanks to our holy religion. If many generations who lived on this land had not kept this religious faith in their hearts and developed the Islamic philosophy we would have lost this invaluable and unique spiritual and moral heritage.

All of us acknowledge our own faith by saying "Thanks to Allah, we are Muslims". Allah is in the souls and hearts of us all. We always remember the Creator and ask for his help. Therefore, the religion of Islam has become an important part of the essence of our life. This is the truth which cannot be denied. So, the essence of our holy religion, its humanitarian ideas and the issues of a healthy attitude to religion should also be cleverly reflected in the national independence ideology.

So that, every one of our fellow countrymen, especially the young people, has a complete understanding of not only the Islamic religion, but all religions in the world, their history and essence. At classes on social studies it is necessary to explain to the young people the issues of religion and secular life, the interaction of these two concepts and the need to moderate the relations between them.

In this connection I would like to note that unlike the statements made by some dogmatists, secularism is not atheism. We are categorically against such incorrect and ill-intentioned interpretations. From this point of view, our national ideology will undoubtedly play an important role in opening the eyes of those young people who in such free times knowingly or unknowingly went astray, lost their ways in daylight and are dancing to the music played abroad. Because the national ideology is an immortal faith of the people, the nation, which never burns or sinks.

fghanistan's Taleban movement is concentrating armoured vehicles and anti-aircraft defence systems at the river port of Hayraton, 15 km west of the Uzbek border town of Termez, military sources told Interfax on Saturday [10th June]. The Taleban's military garrison in Hayraton has been beefed up by 200-250 men in the past week, the sources said.

Up to 12 tanks, 3 armoured vehicles, large-calibre machine-guns and some anti-aircraft devices, including about 15 Stinger man portable missile systems are concentrated in the near vicinity of the border railway bridge connecting Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The sources assume that the concentration of Taleban weaponry in this sector might be connected with preparations for an attack against anti-Taleban coalition's positions near the northern Afghani provinces of Konduz and Baghlan.

resident Mohammad Khatami and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov here on Sunday [11th June] agreed to give impetus to their political, commercial, economic, scientific, cultural and technical ties based on principles of equality, justice and mutual understanding. Signing a protocol on outcome of their talks, the two presidents stressed expansion of two-way relations based on international principles and regulations and respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The two sides stressed expansion of mutual cooperation for transportation of cargo and passenger, construction and repair of communication links through which Uzbekistan would be have access to international waters and the outside world. Meanwhile, a protocol signed by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Komilov, envisages cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, science, technology and culture as well as on international issues.

The protocol stresses adoption of joint measures to remove sources of narcotic drugs. Based on another protocol, signed by minister of economy and finance Hoseyn Namazi and Uzbek minister of foreign economic relations [Elyor Ghaniyev], Iran and Uzbekistan are to encourage and support joint investment and guarantee investment security in both their countries.

Komilov and Iran's minister of justice Esma'il Shushtari also signed a protocol for extradition of criminals, excluding those serving political sentences. Per an agreement, reached between head of Iran's Customs Administration Mehdi Karbasian and his Uzbek counterpart in presence of Khatami and Karimov, Iran and Uzbekistan would cooperate to ease customs formalities, coordinate customs methods, fight customs offences, including narcotics trafficking. The two sides will also cooperate on educational fields and exchange of professors and establishment of computer systems in their customs offices.

Iran and Uzbekistan also signed an agreement to fight terrorism and organized crimes. Iran's Interior Minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari and Uzbekistan's Komilov signed the protocol on behalf of their respective governments. Based on the agreement, Iran and Uzbekistan will fight organized crimes by notorious gangs. Moreover, Iran and Uzbekistan would arrange educational seminars and form working groups to that end.

he overall volume of Uzbek commercial banks' assets was up 35 per cent to 1.28 trillion som from January to May, the press service of the republic's Central Bank has told Interfax. Individual deposits in commercial banks have soared by 50 per cent to about 30bn som, a source said. As a result, banks are able to credit the real sector of the national economy, the source added.

peaking at the [10th] session of the ECO in [the Iranian capital] Tehran, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan praised the role of this body in securing peace and stability in the region and noted that most of what has been achieved in increasing economic cooperation among the ECO members was made possible thanks to the efforts of President [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Uzbek president, having noted the importance of the role played by the ECO in drawing the regional countries even closer to each other and in restoring the Great Silk Road, said that the ECO should not become a politicized body but instead economic and social activities should be carried out within its framework.

Having expressed concern over the unstable situation in Afghanistan, the Uzbek president noted that the future of the ECO itself depended on the restoration of peace and stability in this country. If a reliable peace is not established in Afghanistan the serious threats posed to stability in the region will continue. Mr Karimov noted that there is a huge potential in Afghanistan for major international transit routes and the implementation of any such projects first and foremost depend on the restoration of peace in Afghanistan. Afghanistan should itself resolve its internal problems and other countries should allow it to resolve its own problems.

The Uzbek president also recalled the problem of drug-trafficking which is of serious concern for the regional countries and also for the international community. He stressed the need for a joint struggle to prevent this universal evil and has expressed his satisfaction over the setting up of a UN coordination centre at the ECO secretariat for drug-prevention.

zbek President Islam Karimov visited Tehran on an official visit to participate in the sixth summit of the heads of state of the Economic Cooperation Ogranization member states on 9th-11th June. On the first day of his visit, Karimov met Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Azeri President Heydar Aliyev and discussed issues of regional security. On the second day of the visit Karimov participated in the ECO sixth summit.

After the summit the president of Uzbekistan met with the chief executive of Pakistan, [Gen] Pervez Musharraf. During the meeting, development of mutual cooperation between Uzbekistan and Pakistan was discussed.

Islam Karimv, at first, held a limited format meeting with Irainian President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami during his working visit to Iran. Then an expaned format meeting took place between the delegations of the two states. Documents aimed at further developing and expanding mutual cooperation links between Uzbekistan and Iran were concluded at the end of the talks. The working visit of our country's president, Islam Karimov, to the Islamic Republic of Iran ended with this.

zbek President Islam Karimov said on 9th June before leaving for Iran that the summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization member countries should focus on finding ways of settling the Afghan issue and regional security concerns arising from this. Karimov said the permanent members of the UN Security Council should try to resolve the Afghan issue as this "mostly depends" on the five permanent members. Karimov said if this issue is not tackled "all our plans, aims, and intentions will be like a false belief". Karimov warned that "drugs, arms, terrorists and organized crime" originating in Afghanistan were also reaching Europe and the United States. He was also critical of ECO saying that economic issues were becoming "secondary" and ECO was "mainly" being used for "political ends". Still on the same subject, Karimov said ECO members like Turkey, Pakistan and Iran who "feel themselves big" were trying to "exert their influence as much as possible" on other member countries. He said this was "absolutely against the aim (of ECO) and against our intentions". Karimov also raised the issue of communications in view of Uzbekistan being a landlocked country. He said it was "torture" for Uzbek traders taking and bringing goods. In view of this he said the route Serakhs and further to Bandare-e Abbas port in Iran would "suit" Uzbekistan. The following are excerpts of President Karimov's interview on Uzbek TV on 9th June:

[Question] Does ECO's present day activity satisfy you? How do you assess the decisions passed by ECO?

[President Karimov] One should look at its name to understand ECO, the purpose and aims of establishing this organization. In Uzbek it will be the Economic Cooperation Organization. The ECO is an organization which comprises 10 states. It would not be bad if we recall them. They are Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and six republics of the former Soviet Union, namely Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

That is why the first primary issue to be raised [at the summit] will be that the current level of trade and economic relations in the region is not satisfactory for us. You are asking whether its current work satisfies us. We should, above all, look at the aim and to take a critical look at it. We know the aim of this organization and should look for an answer stemming from that. In my view the volume of trade turnover between the countries of the region does not suit any country.

Another thing which does not suit us and which we have always protested against is that trade and economic issues have become secondary issues and the organization [ECO] is mainly being used for political ends, for meeting their political ends. The countries which feel themselves big, above all, countries like Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, are trying to exert their influence as much as possible on other member countries. There is a kind of competition between them. Strange thoughts come into people's head when they sees this: What is happening? This organization should think about cooperation, not the other way round, when, in most cases, each country speaks about their own ends. It is absolutely against the aim (of ECO) and against our intentions.

Another issue, which we badly need, and which we always highlight and pay attention to, is the issue of communications and the issue of roads. For Uzbekistan, which does not have access to sea ports, this issue is as important as water and air. I have on several occasions spoken about this issue. It is not necessary to go on about how important it is for our development and future. Our people understand this. Reaching the world markets and bringing goods are a torture for us. Some people know this, others do not. That is why, we should seek new opportunities, and to try tackling this issue quickly by opening new roads, the shortest roads which would take our goods to sea ports and improve the trade economic situation. From this point of view the road leading to Mashhad through Serakhs and further to Bandare-e Abbas. Our public should know that the Iranian port of Bandar-e Abbas is in the Persian Gulf. That means reaching the Serakhs border [town, between Turkmenistan and Iran] through the terriroty of Turkmenistan. The railroad going to Bander-e Abbas through Mashhad suits us very well.

The third issue is the Afghan issue. Another issue linked with the Afghan problem is intrusions by terrorist groups, drug trafficking and the illegal sale of arms. We should find a solution by uniting our forces and reaching an agreement. I think that every state and their people should be interested in that. For example, the political and social system is different in Pakistan, Iran also has a different system, the system in Turkey is also different, and you know what it is like in Afghanistan. Our Central Asian countries, it would be right to call it Middle Asia, are also developing according to their own path. But one thing can unite us. One issue can bring together the interests of all our countries and this is security and ensuring security. From this point of view, I am going to raise this issue very resolutely.

If we do not stop the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan all our plans, aims, and intentions will be like a false belief. We believe in the great powers. You know that there are five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia and China. This [Afghan] issue mostly depends on the decision of these countries. If these countries put a great deal of effort, I believe, this issue will be resolved easily, if not easily then it can still be resolved.

Because look at Bosnia. All the countries in the world tried very hard to calm down Bosnia. Am I right? Or take Kosovo. They all tried very hard. Funds worth billions [likely referring to dollars] went there. Why is there no such an attitude towards Afghanistan? Perhaps, because it [Afghanistan] is far away from the above big countries. Or perhaps this [Afghan problem] is not a problem for them but only a threat to us. Perhaps they are under this illusion. But the threat coming from Afghanistan today - drugs, arms, terrorists and organized crime - are currently reaching Europe and the United States! I would like to raise this issue yet again and say, perhaps there are many other uninvolved factors for resolving this issue. But I think that the first main factor is the region's people. Regional countries and the peoples should above all think about themselves.

ranian President Mohammad Khatami said here on Sunday Iran gives priority to cooperation with friendly countries in the region so that the economies of both sides will be complementary to each other. In a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov, Khatami also stressed the importance of regional cooperation and unity in obviating the presence and greedy desires of some foreign countries for the region's rich resources, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Karimov arrived here Friday for the sixth summit of the regional Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which was held Saturday with the participation of heads of states and senior government officials of member countries. In their meeting on Sunday, Khatami and Karimov also highlighted the removal of economic barriers, expansion of transportation and preparation of necessary grounds for investment between the two countries.

Security and progress of regional states depend on security of the entire region, therefore, Iran and Uzbekistan should have more extensive cooperation, especially in the field of economy, Khatami said. The two leaders also underlined their mutual policy of non- intervention in internal affairs of other countries. On the Afghan crisis, the two leaders stressed all political groups in Afghanistan should be considered in seeking a political solution to the civil war.

ran and Uzbekistan signed a series of protocols and agreements on Sunday to expand their cooperation in various fields, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. After holding talks on bilateral relations, President Mohammad Khatami and his visiting Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov signed a protocol on expansion of cooperation based on international principles and regulations and respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The protocol also stressed expansion of cooperation in setting up transportation and communication links through which inland Uzbekistan would have access to international waters and the outside world. Meanwhile, a protocol signed by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov envisages cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, science, technology and culture as well as on international issues.

The protocol also stressed adoption of joint measures to remove sources of narcotic drugs, the report said. Based on another protocol, signed by the ministers of economy of the two countries, Iran and Uzbekistan are to encourage and support joint investments and guarantee investment security in the two countries.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Kamilov and Iran's Minister of Justice Esmail Shushtari signed a protocol for extradition of criminals, excluding those serving political sentences. An agreement was inked by the heads of customs administration of the two countries to cooperate to ease customs formalities, coordinate customs methods, fight customs offenses, including narcotics trafficking, according to the report.

Iran and Uzbekistan also decided to fight terrorism and organized crimes through an agreement signed by the interior ministers of the two sides. Based on the agreement, Iran and Uzbekistan will fight organized crimes by notorious gangs. They would also arrange educational seminars and form working groups to that end. The Uzbek president and his senior delegation was in Tehran for the sixth summit of the regional Economic Cooperation Organization which was held on Saturday.

azakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov had a telephone conversation on June 8. In the course of their conversation the results of a regular session of the heads of governments of the Central Asian Economic Union states (the CAEU - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) held in Astana, issues of economic cooperation in the Central Asian region, as well as the course of preparations for the forthcoming Dushanbe summit of the heads of states of the Central Asian Economic Union member countries were discussed. Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov exchanged views on the course of the implementation of resolutions of the Tashkent summit [held on 26th March 1998] of the heads of states of the CAEU member countries, [the present] status and further measures on fighting international terrorism and religious extremism. The heads of state informed one another on the course of social and economic reforms in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and discussed [the present] status and prospects of bilateral economic cooperation, Kazakh president's press service reported.

he president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, will be in Tehran from 9th to 11th June to attend the 6th summit of the heads of the Economic Cooperation Organization member-states and to carry out a working visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Economic Cooperation Organization is the successor to the Regional Cooperation for Development, which was formed by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. It was given its present name in 1985.

The organization aims to promote the development of trade and economic relations between its member-states; Uzbekistan became a member of this organization in November 1992.

he Silk Road customs post, Kazakhstan's first international customs centre equipped to world standards, has opened on the Uzbek border. ITAR-TASS news agency was told by the country's Customs Committee that this year 30 customs posts are to be opened on the border between the two republics.

Kazakh-Uzbek annual trade turnover is around 200m dollars. Eighty per cent of this passes through the Silk Road customs post. Customs service staff have not up until now had proper working conditions. They were hemmed in among stalls in the bazaar. This made the post attractive to smugglers and drugs traffickers. The new centre should be a reliable barrier to them.

fighter jet of an air force unit of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Uzbekistan crashed during a training flight on 6th June this year. Two of the crew members died. A special government commission is conducting a corresponding investigation.

decree by the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan on further developing Uzbekistan's Olympic movement and preparing the country's sportsmen for the 27th Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

With the aim of further developing the country's Olympic movement and encouraging Uzbek sportsmen's successful participation in the 27th Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and also strengthening Uzbekistan's international prestige and educating the younger generation in the spirit of national pride and loyalty to the homeland, taking into account the great importance of the successes that Uzbek sportsmen have achieved:

1. Uzbekistan's National Olympics Committee is to be considered the official representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan in all the events conducted by the International Olympic Committee.

2. In order to reward Uzbek sportsmen for winning medals at the 27th Olympic Games in recognition of their worthy contributions to increasing our homeland's glory in sport the following lump sums shall be established as prizes:

100,000 dollars for winning a gold medal

50,000 dollars for winning a silver medal

25,000 dollars for winning a bronze medal

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activities have one week in which to submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers on a procedure for paying the above money prizes.

3. The State Sports Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan's National Olympics Committee are to be exempted from paying income tax on the proceeds of the lottery dedicated to the 27th Olympic Games. The money from it must be channelled into preparing Uzbekistan's sport delegation for the 27th Olympic Games and their participation in the Olympics. Sponsorships from corporate bodies and private individuals for Uzbek sportsmen's training and participation in the 27th Olympic Games are to be exempted from income tax, tax on profits or tax on the income of private individuals. Special sport equipment, kit and sportswear which are being brought into the republic for the purpose of facilitating the training of Uzbekistan's sport delegation for the 27th Olympic Games and ensuring their particpation in the Olympics are to be exempt from customs duties with the exception of the dues for drawing up customs documents.

4. On orders from the State Sports Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan's National Olympics Committee, the consumer goods production and sale complex of the Cabinet of Ministers are to ensure that special sportswear is made for the members of the delegation of Uzbek sportsmen who are worthy representatives of the Uzbek sports sector at the Olympic Games.

5. In the period of training for the 27th Olympic Games, the State Sports Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan's National Olympics Committee are to ensure that combined Olympic teams have the right to train free of charge in all the sports bases in the republic no matter what establishment they belong to.

6. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan is to adopt a resolution within 10 days on implementing this decree.

[Signed by] Islam Karimov, the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

he traffic police in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, have put in use a special truck to remove vehicles for breaking parking rules, Uzbek TV reported on 6th June. Over video of a truck carrying a car, a correspondent said that drivers were ignoring parking rules in such a scale that the traffic police "physically could not fine all the breachers".

The TV said the truck was so far the only of its kind in Tashkent and was made by the Uzbek-Turkish bus enterprise, Otayol. "The truck's freight capacity is up to six tonnes and it can carry two cars at the same time," it said. A traffic policemen told the TV that wrongly parked cars would be taken to a special "penalty area".

zbek Deputy Defence Minister Col M. Musayev has said that the country's army should be "compact and highly mobile". In a Russian-language article published in `Vatanparvar' military newspaper on 23rd May, he outlined the main tasks for re-equipping the country's armed forces and the main directions for modernizing armaments, aviation, field communications and military transport. The following is an excerpt from the newspaper article:

The choice of priorities of military and technical re-equipment and modernization should be in line with the tasks of domestic and foreign policy, the financial and economic potential of our country, the current stage of reforms in its armed forces (AF), the change in the nature of modern military conflicts and ways of prosecuting them.

An analysis of the potential threats to security, of the existing nature of armed conflicts and the current military and political situation in the region shows that the structure of compact and highly mobile troops fighting with minimum losses through a skilful use of means of controlling [Russian: kontrol] and destroying the enemy corresponds to the real economic potential and resources of Uzbekistan.

The amount and quality of equipment is a factor in the successful solution of these tasks. The armed forces should represent a flexible strategic force capable of winning as a result of a maneouvre, surprise and a precise strike on the enemy.

In the current economic conditions, military planning should be based on issues of both equipping the army with modern armaments and modernizing the existing equipment, its skilful use and repair, additional equipment, planned release and implementation. The priorities of military-technical re-equipment must be based on the technological, economic and industrial potentials of the republic.

The strategic goals and tasks of the technical re-equipment of the armed forces are the following:

- to raise the technical level of repair and use;

- to solve the tasks of modernizing the existing fleet of machinery;

- to develop the scientific and industrial potentials, master the domestic production of armaments and military machinery;

- the planned re-equipment of troops with new types of armaments and machinery;

- military-technical cooperation with foreign countries.

The major priorities of military-technical re-equipment are: means of preparatory fire and destruction; means of delivery and evacuation; means of control, communication and command of troops; means of personnel training and equipping. The major task of the re-equipment of the armaments should be through organizing the domestic production of the main material - ammunitions of all calibres.

To implement the process of re-equipping weapons in practice it is necessary that all power-wielding structures switch to a single calibre of firearms which will make it possible to simplify the system of supplying the troops with ammunition. Those calibres used at present by the existing types of arms, including those compatible with the existing standards, should be preferred.

It is advisable to purchase new artillery systems due to the complexity of their production and small quantity. The guns available, mortar bombs and anti-tank facilities should be kept combat-ready through repair. As resources are developed, it is necessary to supply the existing rocket volley fire systems with more modern and mobile facilities. With due regard of the climatic and geographical conditions, as well as the difficulty of organizing a technological repair base, it is necessary to decrease the number of caterpillar combat vehicles, gradually changing them in favour of wheeled ones which more meet the modern demand of combat operations in mountainous and desert areas.

A more acceptable version of supplying the army with tanks is to restore them by carrying out major repairs. Taking into account the development of the network of roads in the republic and the length of its borders, wheeled vehicles are becoming one of the major means of increasing troop mobility in protecting the borders and especially important installations, evacuating the population and concentrating resources in the major directions.

A four-wheel-drive off-road motor vehicle (Jeep type) with a carburettor or diesel engine capacity of 75-110 hp and a load-carrying capacity of 0.5-1.5 tonnes can be taken as the major basic model of army motor vehicles. The organization of a joint enterprise to assemble them on the territory of the republic and the further localization of production will make it possible to satisfy the needs of the armed forces within five or six years.

A four-wheel-drive lorry with a diesel engine capacity of 100-160 hp and load-carrying capacity of 2.5-4.0 tonnes can be taken as the basic model of light lorry for carrying personnel or small batches of cargo. Lorries of this type can be developed on the basis of the Otokar lorry models already in production in the republic. After further development and adaptation to military conditions it will be possible to meet the requirements of the armed forces and fully re-equip them with modern vehicles. It can be modified further, its features improved and supplied with different bodies, combat and subsidiary systems.

An off-road six-wheel-drive lorry with a diesel engine capacity of 180-250 hp and a load-carrying capacity of 4-20 tonnes depending on the body can be taken as the major basic model for a lorry. The implementation of the principle of supplying a single motor vehicle chassis will make it possible to considerably increase the combat readiness of units, decrease operational costs, increase maintainability of the fleet of motor vehicles and achieve economic efficiency through transferring to diesel fuel.

To expand the potentials of the existing fleet of helicopters and provide for its work in accordance with the requirements in the interests of all power-wielding ministries and departments, it is necessary to reinforce the fleet of army aircraft with combat and special light helicopters. The major directions of modernizing aviation are:

- to conduct night operations at medium heights with the use of night-vision devices;

- to install a navigation system on the base of laser gyroscopes with the use of a Global Positioning Satellite system combined with multifunctional colour displays, a cartography system and digital flight control systems.

To bring the air defence forces and facilities into line with the level of modern action as resources are developed, it is necessary to re-equip air defence units stage-by-stage with new systems.

Taking into account the specific features of the theatre of military operations and the experience of waging a war in modern conditions (Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Chechnya) it is necessary to switch to modern portable and uniform means of communication used at various levels of command. To deploy field communications centres, modern mobile devices or portable means of communications are to be used making it possible to establish radio, radio relay or telegraphic communication channels which enable contacts, including confidential contacts, with the use of computer equipment.

Every radio set must have a built-in unit to encipher conversations, a data transfer unit, a system for automatically establishing communications and a frequency skip. The principle of the transfer to digital radio-relay sets should become a major criteria of re-equipment of radio-relay and troposphere communications. A number of types of modern radio-relay sets can serve as the basis for this.

Special attention should be paid to means of electronic warfare and radio reconnaissance. Reconnaissance sub-units must be well-equipped with night-vision devices : glasses, binoculars, gunsights and stationary observation devices. The major requirements for such devices must be minimum size and weight, a good operational range, and maximum operating time without a change of power supply.

n international symposium dedicated to health problems in the Caspian Sea area was held in Tashkent. Representatives of the United State of America's Agilent Technologies and General Electric companies participated in this three-day conference.

What are the main events of the first day of the international symposium? In one word, it can be said that the acquaintance of representatives of the US health system with representatives of the health systems of the states located in the Caspian Sea area were the main events of the first day of the symposium. To use US achievements in the health systems of the states located in the Caspian Sea area and by doing this to achieve significant successes in the health system are the main goals of the second and third days of the symposium.

Meanwhile, details of the first day of the meeting are the following. Diplomacy started from the first minutes of the meeting which is usual for such cases. The main sponsor of the international conference is the US Trade and Development Agency. The director of the US Trade and Development Agency, Joseph Grandmaison, and the US ambassador to Uzbekistan, Joseph Presel, and Deputy Prime Minister Hamidulla Karomatov displayed high methods of diplomacy.

The international symposium might have been held in any state of the Caspian Sea area. However the conference is being held in Uzbekistan. Thanks to Mr Presel for this, said Joseph Grandmaison. The United States have the right to boast when the talk is about health systems. Our health system is in an ideal state. That is why you can freely turn to every American participating in the conference, including me, said Joseph Presel.

People used to say in ancient times that the east and west never meet. However, as you can see from this conference, the east and west can always meet. Moreover, they can meet mutually and beneficially, said Deputy Prime Minister Hamidulla Karamatov.

zbekistan wants Poland to set up warehouses for its cotton which would be sold later on third markets. A letter of intent to this effect is to be signed in Warsaw on Monday [5th June], Deputy Economy Minister Bernard Blaszczyk said.

After Poland's inclusion in the EU, cotton from Uzbekistan would be sold directly to EU markets through a commercial law company made up of both countries' firms. Each of the sides would have 50 per cent of capital in the company, the minister explained. On Monday,members of a commission for mutual economic cooperation discussed questions related to the setting up of warehouses, cooperation between banks and the financing of Polish exports to Uzbekistan. Cooperation detailes have not been set so far but it is known that cotton and possibly other goods will be sold via an electronic system.

Also on Monday, Economy Minister Janusz Steinhoff met with visiting Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Mirabror Zufranovitch Usmanov to invite him to the Poland-East Forum organized in Krynica [on the Baltic coast] each year. Uzbekistan is Poland's seventh economic partner among states of the former Soviet Union and second after Afghanistan in Central Asia.

As regards trade turnover, Poland is Uzbekistan's eighth partner. In 1999, mutual turnover reached 82.7m dollars. Compared to the 1998 figure, Polish exports rose by some 30 per cent to 37m dollars and imports to about 47m dollars. Poland sells to Uzbekistan mainly sugar (23m dollars), cables (3.5m dollars), turning tools (1.1m dollars) and potatoes (0.7m dollars).

Uzbekistan sold to Poland mainly cotton (43m dollars), yarn (2.6m dollars) and cotton textile (2.6m dollars). Textile products accounted for 98 per cent of Polish imports.

he Uzbek air force and air defence forces have received the right to use Russian testing grounds for combat shootings by a ruling of the Russian government, the Military News Agency learned.

The Defence Ministry has been charged with signing a respective agreement on co-operation, making the necessary amendments and changes. According to the document, Russia undertakes to provide the Uzbek air force and air defence with instructors, armament, ordnance, targets, and other training ground equipment. The security at the shootings will also be supervised by the Russian party. The expenses are to be paid by the Uzbek side in US dollars within 10 days after the shootings.

zbek President Islam Karimov has refuted the claims of Afghanistan's Taleban [Islamic movement] about the alleged repeated trespassing of the Afghan skies by Uzbek military aircraft, OSCE Chairperson, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita-Maria Ferrero-Waldner said in reply to an ITAR-TASS question on Friday [2nd June]... Islam Karimov said that "the Taleban movement, which spreads such false information, wants to misinform the international community, in particular the UN, to which it has sent the note of indignation," Ferrero-Waldner remarked.

n International Monetary Fund team will arrive on Tuesday for a 10-day mission to ex-Soviet Uzbekistan, which has promised to liberalise its economy and remove capital controls this year. A government source told Reuters late on Monday the mission would likely be headed by Leif Hansen, head of the Second European department of the Fund. The visit was earlier scheduled for the end of April.

"They will be here for 10 days. A lot will depend on how they will formulate their dialogue," the source said.

The fund planned to discuss Uzbekistan's economic reforms in the first quarter of 2000, as well as the possibility of liberalising the country's stringent currency controls, but the visit had been postponed.

The IMF put on hold its $180 million credit programme to Uzbekistan in 1996 when the government imposed restrictions on the convertibility of the sum currency. The measure caused investors to flee and led to a black market for the dollar. But President Islam Karimov promised earlier this year he would liberalise the economy in 2000 and do away with capital controls. Analysts say a large international credit will be needed to ease the effect of the sudden changes.

Uzbekistan last month took the first step towards liberalisation when it allowed its official sum/dollar exchange rate to drop to 231 from the previous 110. The country is rich in gold and other minerals and is almost self-sufficient in energy and food.

axim Shatskikh scored his first hat-trick of the season to lead Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev to a 3-0 home win over Vorskla Poltava on Thursday. The Uzbek striker now has 16 goals after finding the net five times in the last two games. It was Kiev's 24th win of the season and extended their impressive runs of 27 league games without defeat.