Uzbekistan, 2014

Today I would like

to address some of the most important issues on the

General Assembly’s agenda.

First are the growing regional and international

security challenges and threats, escalating conflicts

and wars, and the aggravation of geopolitical

confrontations between large centres of power, which

could produce new areas of tension in the world and

make it more difficult to address the continuing global

financial and economic crisis. All those elements are

cause for serious alarm and deep concern. Uzbekistan

firmly believes that such acute contradictions and

confrontations can be tackled only through a political

path and peaceful means, in strict observance of the

fundamental principles of international law enshrined

in the Charter of the United Nations.

The persisting instability in Afghanistan, which is

exhibiting a tendency to escalate further, poses a serious

threat to stability and security in Central Asia and the

greater region. In the situation currently unfolding, the

accelerated drawdown of the International Security

Assistance Force may turn out to be counterproductive,

and that could further complicate the state of affairs in

Afghanistan.

Today we can say with confidence that all the

parties interested in resolving the Afghan problem

are unanimous about one thing, which is that there is

no military way to achieve peace in Afghanistan. The

President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, said so as long

ago as 2008 at a NATO Summit in Bucharest, and at the

General Assembly’s 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting

on the Millennium Development Goals (see A/65/PV.3).

The presidential elections in Afghanistan this year

demonstrated vividly that the Afghan people are tired

of bloodshed and violence, long-standing misery and

devastation. Today they want peace and stability and

the right to define their fate on their own.

The only reasonable way to tackle the Afghan

problem is to search for a political settlement of the

conflict through peaceful negotiations and achieve

consensus to establish a coalition Government in which

all of Afghanistan’s parties in conflict and its national

and religious groups would be represented.

Uzbekistan adheres to a policy of non-interference

in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. We are building and

will continue to develop stable, friendly relations with

Afghanistan that proceed from the national interests of

both countries, and, on an exclusively bilateral basis,

we will support the Government elected by the Afghan

people.

Secondly, in view of the ongoing global financial

and economic crisis, transport and communications

development and strengthened regional economic

cooperation are key factors for ensuring Central Asia’s

stability and sustainable development. Implementing

large transport and communications infrastructure

projects that can connect our region with global

markets will promote interregional trade and economic

cooperation, attract investment and help develop social

and industrial infrastructure, as well as promote steady

progress in neighbouring regions. I refer in particular

to such projects as the international Uzbekistan-

Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman Transport Corridor, which

will link Central Asian countries to the Middle East

by the shortest and most reliable and secure route.

Uzbekistan’s completion of the Hairatan to Mazar-i-

Sharif railway, the first and so far the only functioning

railroad linking Afghanistan to the outside world, was

a historic landmark event.

Thirdly, as the States of Central Asia, like many

other countries, are experiencing growing water

shortages, the fair and reasonable use of the resources

of the transboundary Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers

becomes extremely important to the life support and

well-being of the population of Central Asia. Uzbekistan

adheres firmly to the principled position that the issue of

the reasonable use of Central Asia’s transboundary river

resources must be resolved according to the universally

recognized norms of international law and within the

framework of the relevant United Nations conventions

on the use of international watercourses, which clearly

define the principles of preventing damage to the

environment and interests of neighbouring countries.

We believe it is unacceptable that certain countries

in the region are promoting the construction of large

hydropower stations with gigantic dams without

conducting an international, truly independent,

unprejudiced and professional expert study.

Implementing such projects without thorough analysis

could exacerbate tensions and the potential for conflict

in the region. Building such grandiose hydropower

facilities in a mountainous, highly seismic area with

a potential for earthquakes of magnitude of 9 points

or highter could carry a high risk of devastating man-

made catastrophes. I wish to underscore that owing to

the potential for making ecological problems worse,

a growing number of countries around the world are

rejecting the construction of gigantic dams and opting

for small and medium-size hydropower stations that do

not damage the environment, safety or socioeconomic

well-being of their populations.

Fourthly, the dynamic development of our economy

and modernization of all spheres of the country’s life

have enabled Uzbekistan to ensure the implementation

of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead

of schedule. Since achieving independence, Uzbekistan

has seen its economy grow almost five-fold and per

capita income increase 8.7 times, testifying to the

growth in our standards and quality of life. In the past

10 years, Uzbekistan’s annual rate of growth of its gross

domestic product (GDP) has exceeded 8 per cent. By

2030 we intend to increase the per capita GDP to $9,300.

About 60 per cent of State expenditures are

channelled to fund social development, with more than

34.3 per cent of that spent on education. Almost 100 per

cent of school-age children attend secondary schools.

Women now represent 45.4 per cent of employed

persons. We have achieved tangible successes in

improving maternal and child health, with the mortality

rate among children under the age of 5 reduced by a

factor of 1.8 and maternal mortality rates by 1.6.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan will do its utmost to

achieve all its intended plans for the implementation of

the MDGs as soon as possible. We will also continue to

undertake large-scale programmes in terms of the post-

2015 development agenda.