UzLiDeP Chairman: “It is wrong to compare the EAEU with the USSR”

“In this regard, firstly, we must not forget about the interests of Uzbekistan, and secondly, the interests of the electorate of our party. Let’s look at the historical aspect of this issue. It has been studied by experts for three years. Undoubtedly, Uzbekistan is interested in this organization.

This issue was not reinforced with the arrival of the Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko. If you remember, in June of this year, our president at a Senate meeting focused on this issue. He noted that we must improve the quality of our products, since 70% of trade falls on the EAEU countries. 

This issue was also raised during a visit to Belarus in August. The joint statement by the presidents also illustrates to what extent Uzbekistan is cooperating with the community on the example of Belarus.

One of the leaders of our party yesterday seriously reacted to this - how legitimate the statement on equating the EAEU with the USSR will be decided by the people. Since no one will advocate a return to the USSR. The Russian president has also repeatedly said that the EAEU does not have such a goal.

We must not forget that the initiator of the EAEU formation was not Russia, but Nursultan Nazarbayev. I want to assure you that Uzbekistan will never lose independence.

In December 2016, our President, as a candidate from UzLiDeP, received the majority of the votes of our people. In the foreign policy, he follows a constructive, pragmatic approach. That is to say, he puts the interests of Uzbekistan in the first place. We are sure that he did not make a single decision contrary to the interests of Uzbekistan and will not do this in the future.

Since up to 70% of our trade falls on the EAEU member countries, cooperation with this alliance will, in the first place, have a positive impact on foreign trade. For example, now we export agricultural products for about $2 billion. In the future, we want to bring this figure up to $10 billion. To do this, we must create the same conditions as in other countries. Our cooperation with the Union will bring us economic benefits. 

Thirdly, migration issues. 90% of our people working abroad are in the countries of the Eurasian Union. The conditions created for our citizens working abroad are more unfavorable than for the labor force of the Union countries. Our citizens spend more. A migrant from our country spends more than $1,000 per year in comparison to a migrant from Kyrgyzstan.