Shavkat Mirziyoyev not satisfied with level of socio-economic development in Bukhara

On January 22, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered a speech at the extraordinary session of the Bukhara region council of people’s deputies on the tasks of socio-economic development of the region, the presidential press service reported.

“If I am asked the question whether or not the current level of development in Bukhara is satisfactory, my answer will be “no”. Bukhara is 10 years behind in development compared to other regions. Corruption and bribery cases are not being eliminated. The fact that the share of agriculture in the gross regional product is 50% is a sign of olden times. The region has great potential in industry, services and entrepreneurship. The worldview of district khokims and sector leaders must change,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

It was noted that a new system of work will be introduced to study the problems and opportunities at the local level, to provide employment and income, to develop entrepreneurship.

“Now our society will have a different direction – mahalla will become a great power. If the chairman of the mahalla is an educated and selfless person, both the mood and the economy will change,” the head of state said.

For this purpose, a working group was sent to the region, the heads of ministries, departments and commercial banks were attached to the cities and districts.

Each of the 544 mahallas was surveyed, 333 were divided into “satisfactory”, 182 – “medium” and 29 – “low” development categories.  Reserves to create a source of income for the population have been identified.

Mirziyoyev highlighted the problem of unemployment. Instructions were given to create new jobs and conditions for the self-employed. 390 billion soums of soft loans will be allocated for family business and youth business projects. One vocational school will be selected in each district, on the basis of which monocenters will be established. Studying each of the mahallas, the unemployed, youth and women will be trained in high-demand professions.

713 investment projects worth about 19 trillion soums have been developed in the Bukhara region for 2021-2022. Of these, 555 are planned to be implemented this year, creating more than 14,000 new jobs.

It was noted that it is necessary to fully use the potential of the services sector, including the further development of pilgrimage tourism.  In particular, instructions were given to restore the ancient “Gijduvan” Kurgan, build an open-air museum, turn the village “Shirin” in the Vobkent district into an ethnotourism center and establish the “Ibn Sino zamonasi” complex in the Afshona village, Peshku district. An initiative to hold the Bukhara International Festival of Gold and Jewelry has been put forward.

Special attention was paid to the development of social spheres, the establishment of new educational and medical institutions. This year, the Presidential School will start operating in Bukhara. 16 schools specialized in mathematics, information technology, chemistry, biology and physics will be established.  It is also planned to reconstruct 18 schools.

 The head of state focused on youth issues.

“Young people have a lot of aspirations. If we create conditions and support them, they will have great strength, power, opportunity and future,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The session also identified tasks for infrastructure development, improvement of the drinking water system and sewage networks, construction and repair of roads.