Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
On the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026.
Within the framework of the Action Strategy for the development of our country from 2017 to 2021, nearly 300 laws and over 4,000 decrees of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan were adopted to fundamentally reform all areas of state and public life. Systematic work was also carried out to ensure human rights, strengthen accountability and transparency of government bodies, and increase the role of civil society institutions, media, and political activism of citizens and public associations.
In the field of national economic reforms, significant measures were taken to liberalize foreign trade, tax, and financial policies, support entrepreneurship, guarantee the inviolability of private property, organize deep processing of agricultural products, and ensure rapid regional development. Strengthening social protection for citizens and reducing poverty became a priority in state policy, leading to a new phase in ensuring quality new jobs, guaranteed income sources, skilled healthcare and educational services, and decent living conditions for the population.
As a result of the reforms over the past five years, the necessary political, legal, social, economic, and educational foundations for building New Uzbekistan were established. Based on a thorough analysis of global trends and the results of our country’s development, the following priorities for reforms are set for the upcoming years: enhancing the well-being of the people, transforming the economy, promoting entrepreneurship, ensuring human rights and interests, and forming an active civil society.
- Approval of the Development Strategy for New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026
The strategy includes seven priority areas:
- Enhancing human dignity and developing an active civil society.
- Establishing justice and the rule of law as the foundation of development.
- Accelerating national economic growth and achieving high growth rates.
- Implementing a fair social policy and developing human capital.
- Ensuring spiritual progress and advancing the field to a new stage.
- Addressing global issues from the perspective of national interests.
- Strengthening national security, defense capabilities, and conducting open, pragmatic foreign policy.
- Social Protection and Human Dignity
Among the social protection tasks:
- Ensuring full social welfare and material assistance for the needy by 2026.
- A unified national strategy for social protection will be developed, including creating a social insurance system, forming a social insurance fund, and providing services based on social contracts for low-income families.
- Establishing a special data registry system for vulnerable groups such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities, and integrating the «Iron Book,» «Youth Book,» and «Women’s Book» into the system.
- Providing free meals (breakfast or lunch) for first to fourth-grade students in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Khorezm region, starting from April 1, 2022.
These actions align with the «Strategy of Development of New Uzbekistan», which focuses on creating an equitable and progressive society, enhancing economic reforms, and fostering the well-being and rights of citizens.
3. Extending the Three-Year Period to Six Years; Including the Period of Care for Children with Disabilities in Childhood Up to 18 Years of Age in the Pension Calculation as Work Experience
4. Introduction of the «Active» Model of the Mahalla System:
In 2022, to directly address community issues and ensure the development of the region by providing the necessary resources and opportunities:
- Support for entrepreneurship, ensuring employment, and reducing poverty will be effectively carried out by district (city) heads of the local government and youth leaders.
- All levels of leadership will be required to visit mahallas, study issues within their domain, and find solutions. The status of work in mahallas will be a key criterion for evaluating the performance of ministries, agencies, and local authorities.
- A system for citizens to communicate directly with government authorities and officials from their mahalla will be established. Public services will be provided in the mahalla, including effective communication with the President’s reception offices.
- Local self-governing bodies’ powers will be reviewed and their financial capacity will be expanded to address social and economic issues in mahallas.
- The state will support the local population based on the business activity profile of the region, including creating infrastructure such as sports facilities, creative clubs, employment and training centers, and business objects.
- The legal basis for the continuous communication between mahalla representatives and local representative bodies will be created, including the introduction of mandatory issues to be discussed at the local council meetings led by the mahalla head.
- A mechanism for citizens to express distrust towards the head of the mahalla will be introduced.
The Ministry of Mahalla and Family Support (R. Mamatov), the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction (M. Ubaydullayev), along with other relevant ministries, will work together over the next three months to develop a program of measures to improve the activities of mahallas and draft an updated law on Self-Government Bodies of Citizens. This will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers.
5. Education Quality Improvement Measures in 2022:
- Starting from April 1, 2022, payments by parents sending their children to private preschools and schools up to 3 million UZS per month will be exempt from income tax.
- To modernize the secondary education system, a program for updating textbooks will be implemented with 605 billion UZS allocated from the state budget. 141,000 new student places will be created, with a goal of reaching 6.4 million students by 2026.
The Ministry of Public Education (B. Saidov), the Ministry of Finance (T. Ishmetov), and other relevant ministries will continue efforts to create new educational spaces and provide vocational training for schoolchildren.
6. Health Protection Measures in 2022:
- The introduction of primary healthcare services based on the «One Step» principle, including establishing 105 family doctor points and 31 family clinics by the end of 2022.
- A system will be established to provide subsidized medical services to low-income individuals through private medical institutions by 2 months after the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance work together.
7. National Economic Growth and High Growth Rates in 2022:
- The government will take steps to reduce the annual inflation rate to 9% in 2022, 5% in 2023, and fiscal deficit to 3%.
- By 2026, private sector participation in bank assets will increase to 60% through transformation processes in state-owned banks.
The Ministry of Finance (T. Ishmetov), the State Tax Committee (Sh. Kudbiyev), and other relevant ministries will work together to implement tax reductions, including 12% VAT rate and 15% profit tax rate for key business sectors such as banking, finance, and telecommunications. Additionally, a green economy will be integrated into all sectors to improve energy efficiency by 20% and reduce harmful gas emissions by 20% by 2026.
This document outlines the priorities and strategic initiatives set forth by the government of Uzbekistan for the 2022-2026 period, focusing on improving governance, social protection, education, healthcare, and economic development.
By March 1, 2022 — expand and support the use of renewable energy sources and improve the energy efficiency of social, commercial, administrative, and residential buildings and structures; Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction (B. Abdinazarov), Ministry of Energy (A. Sultanov).
By June 1, 2022 — a program for reducing losses in industrial sectors and increasing resource utilization efficiency, transitioning to a «green economy» and ensuring energy efficiency, as well as a system for promoting the production and use of electric vehicles.
- Based on the experience of establishing special tax rates for the Mo‘ynoq district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, additional incentives will be created for the development of entrepreneurship in districts with «difficult» conditions. The Ministry of Finance (T. Ishmetov) and the State Tax Committee (Sh. Kudbiyev) will jointly submit a bill to the Cabinet of Ministers by October 1, 2022, to establish a tax rate of 1% on turnover and 1% on property taxes for legal entities, applicable to newly established businesses in these regions, which will be in effect until January 1, 2025.
- Starting from 2022, a system will be implemented to gradually include all mandatory business requirements in a unified electronic registry, and redundant or obsolete mandatory requirements will be reviewed. The unified registry will be fully operational by July 1, 2025. The Ministry of Justice (R. Davletov), the Representative for the Protection of the Rights and Legal Interests of Entrepreneurs (D. Qosimov), and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (A. Ikramov) will review and revise business-related mandatory requirements and submit proposals to the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan within three months.
- By April 1, 2022, the procedure for obtaining licenses and other permits for business activities will be simplified, taking into account the availability of remote (online) services and their specialization. This includes canceling requirements for buildings, premises, equipment, and technical tools in certain activities, allowing businesses to select specialists based on their needs, and introducing flexibility in operating mobile activities, including using vehicles. In cases where services are provided outside the country, national standards and requirements will be waived for foreign orders. Additionally, a special set of requirements for remote service providers (aggregators) will be developed to remove some license and permit requirements.
The Ministry of Justice (R. Davletov), the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (Sh. Shermatov), and other interested ministries and agencies will ensure the revision of these license and permit requirements in two months.
- In order to reduce state participation in the economy and open more space for the private sector, monopolies will be eliminated by abolishing exclusive rights and privatizing state-owned companies in over 25 industries. In 2022, 14 monopolies will be abolished, including certification services; in 2023-2025, 11 more monopolies, including oil product storage, additional railway services, airport terminal management, and railway forwarding services.
- A new system will be established for the comprehensive social and economic development of regions in the Development Strategy, which includes the following:
- Programs for the comprehensive social and economic development of regions for 2022-2026 will be created based on a deep analysis of the problems and opportunities of each district and city every year.
- Quarterly reports on the implementation of the tasks in the regional development programs will be presented to the People’s Deputies Councils, and heads of ministries and departments will report to the chambers of the Supreme Assembly.
- Important projects aimed at reforming the social and economic sectors and developing priority industries will be discussed widely with local communities before being approved.
- The Cabinet of Ministers will approve the draft programs for the comprehensive social and economic development of the country’s regions for 2022-2026 within a month.
- To strengthen the responsibility of state bodies for resolving regional issues based on the «State – for the People» principle and create a new system for planning strategic directions:
- Regular analysis of the region and development of «roadmaps» for improvement by district (city) governor assistants and youth leaders based on the research and analysis of the region.
- The preparation of an annual work program for all levels of government, including public participation, and the regular publication of progress reports on their implementation.
- The analysis of appeals, social surveys, and public discussions to inform decisions related to regional development.
14. To increase the coverage and speed of public services, ensuring that the interests of all population segments are considered, the following actions will be taken in 2022:
- Implement the practice of offering related state services without waiting for requests, such as providing and replacing documents for citizens.
- Abolish the practice of requiring certain documents, like birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and diplomas, by introducing the “Digital Passport of Citizens” project.
- Simplify the system for providing state services to elderly and disabled individuals and introduce modern technologies to create additional convenience for them.
The Ministry of Justice (R. Davletov) and the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications (Sh. Shermatov) will submit a draft decision to the Cabinet of Ministers by October 1, 2022, that includes measures for bringing the public service system closer to the people, reducing waiting times, digitizing public services, and transferring services to the private sector.
15. In line with the tasks of ensuring justice and the rule of law outlined in the Development Strategy, the following actions will be undertaken in 2022:
- Introduce a system of free legal aid for citizens in need, not only for criminal cases but also for civil and administrative matters.
- Ensure that the obligation to prove that a decision or action is not illegal in an administrative court lies with the official who made it.
- Create a single online electronic register for individuals whose freedom of movement is restricted.
16. To assist citizens who have completed their sentences in reintegrating into society, a «basic social-material assistance package» will be implemented. Under this system, citizens who have served their sentences and present specific business proposals in areas like entrepreneurship, construction, or craftsmanship will receive one-time material assistance to help them start independent activities.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (P. Bobojonov), the Ministry of Finance (T. Ishmetov), and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations (N. Xusanov) will submit a draft decision to the Cabinet of Ministers within three months to implement this system.
17. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (P. Bobojonov) and the Ministry of Transport (I. Maxkamov), in collaboration with the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional authorities, and the Tashkent city administration, will, within three months, draft a program to improve road infrastructure and create safe conditions for movement, taking into account the experience of developed countries. This includes aligning road infrastructure with international standards, fully digitizing the traffic management system, creating appropriate conditions for all participants in road traffic, and ensuring public involvement in the process. Special attention will be given to the effective use of funds allocated for this purpose through the “Open Budget” portal.
18. The commission and working group for implementing the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy for 2022-2026 will be approved according to Appendices 3 and 4. The commission and working group will be responsible for organizing and monitoring the full, timely, and quality implementation of the activities outlined in the Development Strategy and coordinating the preparation of relevant annual state program drafts for 2023-2026.
19. It is emphasized that the timely and effective implementation of the Development Strategy is the priority task of all government bodies and their officials. The Strategy will be implemented in five stages, with state programs adopted each year based on the designated themes for those years.
20. Support is given for the initiative to reorganize the “Taraqqiyot Strategy” center, affiliated with the National Center for Human Rights, the Federation of Trade Unions, and the “Yuksalish” national movement, into a research and “think tank” center that operates in line with international standards. The center will take on tasks such as addressing systemic issues like bureaucratic barriers, inconsistencies in legislation, non-functioning legal mechanisms, and outdated regulations; organizing meetings and dialogues with relevant government officials on these issues; and developing clear proposals for eliminating them, based on discussions with entrepreneurs, scientists, experts, and civil society representatives. The center will also conduct thematic social surveys and related scientific research.
21. The following proposals for the “Yuksalish” national movement and the “Vatandoshlar” fund, aimed at involving the national and international community in the implementation of the Development Strategy, will be supported:
- Establish a group for Independent Monitoring and Evaluation under the “Yuksalish” national movement to prepare annual alternative reports assessing the progress of achieving the goals outlined in the Development Strategy and State Program.
- Create public support groups for the Development Strategy in regions, consisting of representatives from NGOs, media, experts, and community leaders, to regularly hold public hearings.
- Summarize citizen initiatives and promote public projects with the involvement of civil society institutions.
22. The «Taraqqiyot Strategy» Center shall take measures to regularly reflect the progress of the tasks outlined in the Development Strategy and State Program in analytical and informational materials, which will be shared on the global Internet and through mass media.
23. The «Taraqqiyot Strategy» Center and the «Yuksalish» National Movement, in collaboration with the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications, will launch an online portal within one month to inform the public about the progress of the Development Strategy and State Program at the local level. The portal will also collect citizens’ opinions, proposals, and objections related to the implementation of these measures, systematizing the submitted initiatives and submitting them monthly to the Republic Commission.
24. The Cabinet of Ministers shall:
- Regularly organize the timely and quality implementation of the measures outlined in the Development Strategy, State Program, and regional socio-economic development programs.
- Discuss the progress of implementing the Development Strategy, State Program, and regional development programs each quarter, addressing identified issues and shortcomings, and ensuring that officials responsible for these failures are held accountable.
- Ensure the timely preparation of annual state program drafts for the subsequent years of implementing the Development Strategy.
25. The Ministry of Justice, the Accounts Chamber, the «Taraqqiyot Strategy» Center, and the «Yuksalish» National Movement will work together to:
- Systematically monitor the implementation of the Development Strategy and State Program and propose additional measures to ensure they are executed on time and effectively.
- Provide practical assistance in ensuring the timely and high-quality development, coordination, and public discussion of the drafts for legal and regulatory documents outlined in the Development Strategy and State Program.
- Prepare and publish informational-analytical reviews on the outcomes of implementing the Development Strategy and State Program, making them available in foreign languages and widely distributing them.
- Submit monthly reports on monitoring results to the Republic Commission.
26. The Information and Mass Communications Agency (A. Khodjayev), the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan (A. Khadjayev), and the National Information Agency of Uzbekistan (A. Kochimov), in collaboration with mass media, will ensure the following:
- Regularly explain the objectives and tasks of the Development Strategy and State Program through mass media, including the global Internet and social networks, and make sure the public understands their essence.
- Provide quick and accurate information about the progress and results of the measures being implemented under the Development Strategy and State Program.
27. The ministers and heads of government agencies, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and the governors of the regions and the mayor of Tashkent city will be held personally responsible for the effective implementation of this Decree. The Republic Commission will be responsible for coordinating and supervising the work of responsible organizations, as well as holding discussions every month on the implementation of this Decree. The measures taken will be reported every quarter.
To the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Information should be regularly updated.
Sh. Mirziyoyev) is the current President of Uzbekistan.
Tashkent city
January 28, 2022
PD -60-number
The source is taken from the Lex.uz website.