The President of Uzbekistan announced a number of important initiatives in the field of combating corruption

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On December 19, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the ceremony of awarding the high International prize in the field of combating corruption, held at the Congress Center of Tashkent city.

The event was attended by the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is the founder of this award, as well as representatives of the United Nations, delegations from over 40 countries, including all laureates of this international award.

Welcoming the participants of the forum, the head of Uzbekistan expressed gratitude to the Emir of Qatar and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the proposal to hold this event in Uzbekistan. He also sincerely congratulated the Qatari delegation and the people of Qatar on the Independence Day, which was widely celebrated on December 18.

The leader of Uzbekistan stressed that today Qatar is becoming the center of global cooperation and diplomacy, as evidenced by the successful high-level World Cup, the International Conference on Least Developed Countries, the World Expo Doha 2023, and many other international initiatives.

The sides noted with satisfaction the entry into a completely new level of Uzbek-Qatari relations, the beginning of the implementation of a number of major joint projects. It was emphasized that the holding of the current forum is evidence of the commonality and harmony of the goals of the two countries.

As the President of Uzbekistan noted, the establishment of the global anti-corruption award, which is one of the most pressing problems in a rapidly changing world, and the holding of the award ceremony on all continents deserves wide recognition.

– After all, the fight against corruption is the sacred duty of every person with a clear conscience, every democratic society and state, – said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

According to him, the recognition of merits and the presentation of this prestigious award to individuals who are most active and make a worthy contribution to the fight against corruption in the world serves the consistent and full implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption, adopted in 2003.

The head of our country stated that corruption is a threat that undermines the foundations of all mankind, all societies, strikes at the economy, destroys the principles of the rule of law and sharply reduces people's confidence in state policy, hinders the development of democratic institutions.

According to the analysis, currently the damage from corruption in the world amounts to about 3 trillion US dollars. "However, I believe this large figure does not fully reflect the true state of affairs and the real extent of the damage," the leader of Uzbekistan stressed.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan is currently implementing systemic legal and institutional reforms in the fight against corruption, and is closely cooperating with the United Nations, the OECD and other reputable international structures. A law on combating corruption has been adopted, and an appropriate Agency has been created, which is endowed with special powers.

Preventive mechanisms aimed at ensuring openness, transparency of activities and increasing government responsibility, reducing bureaucracy and simplifying public services, and preventing corruption are being widely introduced into practice.

In particular, compliance control and performance assessment systems have been established in all government departments. Government procurement has been fully digitalized.

In 2021, Uzbekistan became a member of the International Open Data Charter, effectively participates in the Istanbul Action Program, the Global Operational Network, the Eurasian and Egmont Groups, and many other platforms, and serves as the Secretariat of the Asset Recovery Network in the States of Western and Central Asia.

The International Anti-Corruption Forum, which has become a tradition, is held annually in Tashkent.

In recent years, our country has risen by 42 positions in the Transparency International index, and the goal is to increase Uzbekistan's place in this rating by another 50 positions by 2030.

Uzbekistan has risen to 30th place in the Open Data Inventory ranking, and ranks 4th in the world in terms of the number of open data sources.

The leader of our state stated that "in the New Uzbekistan, democratic reforms are becoming irreversible, and we have also set ourselves big plans and tasks in the field of combating corruption."

In order to achieve them, the Head of state put forward a number of proposals and initiatives.

First of all, a National Anti-Corruption Strategy until 2030 will be developed and implemented.

Special attention will be paid to further ensuring transparency of activities and increasing accountability of public authorities, improving the open data system, strengthening the legal framework and institutional mechanisms in the field of combating corruption.

Uzbekistan will also actively participate in regional and global initiatives and new projects in the field of anti-corruption. The opportunities of the Regional Platform of the Convention against Corruption, launched in Tashkent in November this year, will be widely used.

At the same time, it was proposed to create a Regional research Center on corruption issues to share experiences and strengthen dialogue, conduct scientific work with the active involvement of non-governmental non-profit organizations.

The close cooperation of the national Anti-Corruption Agency with foreign specialized institutions will also be strengthened, which will further enhance the potential of this agency. Based on international best practices, new mechanisms will be introduced, including the institution of a "preliminary study" on corruption facts – an anti-corruption investigation.

The priority task is the formation of a new generation, which will be vaccinated with the "honesty vaccine" from childhood. It is planned to widely implement the UN Global Resource Program on Anti-Corruption Education and increasing anti-corruption activity of young people in the country.

The President of Uzbekistan also proposed to hold a Global Media Forum to effectively use the opportunities of journalists and further increase their influence in the fight against corruption.

At the end of his speech, the Head of state cordially congratulated all the laureates of the prestigious award and wished them great success in their quest for justice.

The President of Uzbekistan, together with the Emir of Qatar, solemnly presented statuettes of the high International Anti-Corruption Award to its holders.

The prize in the nomination "For achievements in the fight against corruption" was awarded to the former chairman of the International Organization Transparency International, Jose Carlos Ugas Sanchez Moreno (Peru).

In the nomination "Scientific Research and Education", Professor John Kua of the National University of Singapore (Singapore) and Professor Suncana Roksandic of the University of Zagreb (Croatia) received the award.

The awards "For Youth Creativity in the fight against corruption" were awarded to non–governmental organizations "Youth4IntegrityBuilding" (Kenya) – Director Damaris Aswe, and "All4Integrity" (Portugal) - founder Andre Correa D'Almeida.

The prizes in the Innovation and Investigative Journalism category were awarded to investigative correspondent Claire Rucastle-Brown (Great Britain) and former head of the Anti-corruption Department at the UK Department for International Development Phil Mason.

In the nomination "Protecting Sports from Corruption", the awards were given to journalist and BBC presenter Waihiga Mwaura (Kenya) and editor of the Central European News news agency Shantanu Guha Ray (India).