| June 26-July 3, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
President's visit to Bishkek
| |
|  resident of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov was in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, this week for a session of the Central Asian Inter-state Council joined by his counterparts from three other Central Asian states. The session reviewed the results of the Council's work for the last year and elected Kyrgyz president Askar Akaev its new chairman. The four presidents also agreed on granting Ukraine, Turkey and Georgia an observer status in the Council. Uzbekistan has already been in a close cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia in a different Union including Moldova and Azerbaijan as well.
The four presidents bitterly spoke low cotton prices in the world market. President Karimov drew a scheme to explain its main reason. Goods manufacturers artificially reduce prices for raw cotton decreasing their ability to make profit in hard currency. As a result raw producers will have to ask goods manufacturers for credits which will naturally be given on certain conditions. President Karimov urged his counterparts to fight this phenomenon. He also criticized the economic situation between Central Asian states. Despite inter-government agreements customs officials apply all kinds of duties, some Central Asian states restrict the movement via their territory. In other words instead of mutual cooperation each pursues its own interests. Mr. Karimov warned his counterparts not to repeat the mistakes the CIS has made. None of hundreds of agreements signed within CIS has worked successfully existing just in paper. Our president also called for cooperative efforts in maintaining regional security. Kazak president Nursultan Nazarbaev was dissapointed with the fact that no transnational financial and industrial groups and consortiums were formed after such a decision was made at the previous session. Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov proposed that the next session be held in his country. His counterparts hailed his proposal.
|
|
Uzbekistan strengthens self-defence with NATO assistance
| |
|  egional courses
to practice civil defence and civil
military cooperation opened in Tashkent on Tuesday.
The Uzbek Ministry for Emergency Situations told
Itar-Tass that the courses had been
organized in the framework of the " Partnership for
peace" programme jointly with the NATO
Directorate for planning and use of civil services
under conditions of emergencies, and the Chief
Headquarters of the Allied Forces of Europe.
The regional courses are attended by
representatives of 16 countries - NATO members and its
partners. During the courses which will
continue for several days, experts will deliver
lectures about civil defence planning and
operations conducted in emergency situations and
exchange experience with their Uzbek
colleagues.
|
|
Japanese Ambassador completes his diplomatic mission
| |
|  n June 23 President Islam Karimov met with the Ambassador of Japan to Uzbekistan Koichi Obata in connection with the expiration of his diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan.
President Karimov gave a high mark for his contribution to strengthen ties between Uzbekistan and Japan. Indeed, during Mr. Obata's mission in our country, leaders of a great number of Japanese financial organizations and companies visited Uzbekistan with the Government of Japan constantly rendering financial aid and credits.
|
|
President meets OSCE envoy
| |
| resident Karimov met with visiting OSCE chairman's special envoy Vilgelm Hoink on June 25. Uzbekistan is a full member of this organization since 1992. President Karimov showed his dissapointment with this Organization's strategy and purpose towards Uzbekistan. He asked Mr. Hoink if the OSCE had any projects to ensure regional security in Central Asia. Documents adopted in this organization leave out the problems of Central Asia although all the countries of this region are OSCE's full members. What has OSCE done to stop conflicts in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, asked President Karimov his guest. The organization is designed to struggle for the security and progress of not only Europe, but also all of its members.Mr. Karimov proposed that a special division defending Central Asian interest should be formed within the OSCE. Its ruling body is completely made of Europeans. The president also noted that the Western criteria might not always be relevant to that of the Eastern countries. Mr. Hoink promised that he would deliver Islam Karimov's comments to the OSCE leadership and hoped that they might be even discussed at the organization's upcoming summit in Istanbul.
|
|
Japan gives Uzbekistan 470 mln. yen
| |
|  he Japanese government allocates 470
million yen to Uzbekistan for the enlargement of the food production, under a
document signed by Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
K. Obata and Uzbek Vice-Premier B. Olimdzhanov in Tashkent on Friday.
The grant will be used to increase the production of rice in Karakalpistan and the
Khorezm region, sources in the Uzbek cabinet told Itar-Tass. Advanced rice
combine harvesters and other agricultural machinery will be bought.
|
|
Uzbek Court sentences six to death for february bombing
| |
|  zbekistan's supreme court sentenced six people to
death and 16 others to imprisonment on Monday after convicting them of being
involved in a series of bombing attacks in February which killed 16, ITAR-Tass
news agency reported.
All of the 22 defendants pleaded guilty of the charges, including terrorism,
murder and attempted assassination of President Islam Karimov, ITAR-Tass
news agency said.
Eight of them were sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the remaining eight
being sentenced to 10-years in high-security prison camp.
Uzbekitan's capital Tashkent was shocked by a series of bombing attacks on
February 16, during which 16 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.
| E-mail me on: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||