On the shores of the Issyk-Kul, known as a pearl of the Kyrgyz Republic, a historic Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asian countries took place this week.
During the times of celebration of the 30th anniversaries of the establishment of diplomatic relations, important decisions and documents were signed in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyz Republic), a joint statement of leaders, as well as a historically significant Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st century, dedicated to have a positive impact on the processes of further integration of the countries of the region and the consolidation of joint efforts in overcoming the emerging challenges and threats of our time.
The President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov noted in his speech that over the past centuries of strong friendship and harmonious coexistence, five Central Asian countries together withstood all the vicissitudes of history. The historical mission before the countries is seen as maintaining the integrity and security, ensuring the development and prosperity of our countries and nations.
Security and borders
The President stressed that general security, stability and prosperity depend on the atmosphere of relations between the states of the region and work is currently underway to delineate the state border of Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In this regard, he confirmed the political will to complete the negotiation process in a mutually beneficial manner in order to turn these borders into open bridges of peace, friendship and trust, and the Ferghana Valley itself into a true oasis of Central Asia.
Trade and economy
The President noted that over the past ten years, dynamic rates of economic growth and gross product growth have been observed in Central Asia. In 2021, the total share of GDP exceeded three hundred billion US dollars. He indicated that the growth driver in Central Asia should be free trade and investment, the development of transport and transit infrastructure and digitalization. The importance of the established border trade centers on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as an industrial trade and logistics center near the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border was noted.
Sadyr Japarov noted the importance of the complete removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers hindering free trade, including unreasonable delays of goods at the borders. It was proposed to make efforts to improve the transport, transit and logistics infrastructure of the countries of Central Asia, primarily in terms of increasing the level of integration within the region, as well as connecting to world transport hubs and corridors.
Meeting of Central Asian Leaders in Kyrgyzstan.
Food and energy security
During the period of crisis, he noted the priority of issues of ensuring food and energy security, macroeconomic stability and social stability and proposed coordinated activities in this direction. In particular, the need for expanded cooperation in all areas that will increase food security and agricultural development in the region.
Kyrgyzstan stands for expanded cooperation in the hydropower sector in order to increase the energy self-sufficiency and security of the countries of Central Asia.
Water cooperation
In the context of a reduction in the volume of water resources due to climate change, it was proposed to jointly develop mutually beneficial water use mechanisms so that the upstream countries have the opportunity and interest to accumulate water resources for irrigation needs during the growing season.
In this regard, the necessity for resumption and improvement of cooperation within the framework of the Agreement on the Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Naryn-Syrdarya River between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan of 1998, which provides for a balanced exchange of water and energy resources, was outlined.
Transportation area
The necessity for improvement of transport, transit and logistics infrastructure of the Central Asian countries was noted, primarily in terms of increasing the level of integration within the region, as well as connecting to world transport hubs and corridors.
Meeting of Central Asian Leaders.
Tourism
Kyrgyzstan proposes the joint organization of specialized tourist routes, the introduction of concessions when tourists cross common borders, the formation of information centers with a database of tourism opportunities for each of the countries of the region.
It was also proposed to create a common Central Asian TV channel and prepare a series of TV projects informing about the potential of the region, friendship and unity of the nations, a series of educational television and radio programs on the history and identity.
The Leonardo Royal Hotel Den Haag Promenade is represented by both new and more experienced employees working together with passion as one team, to deliver great service and to depict the hotelβs values. In these monthly written pieces, there is a focus on their values and their approach to our international clients.
Who are the employees as an individual? Allow us to introduce you to introduce Jill Vermeulen
Nationality: Dutch
Function: Food and Beverage Assistant Manager
Department: Food and Beverage
When did you start working at the Promenade Hotel?
I started working at the Promenade hotel in 2016 as a Front Office Trainee. I came back after my internship in Canada in 2017 and then started working in the F&B department. After one year, I got promoted to F&B Supervisor. In November 2019 I left the Promenade Hotel but I really missed it so I came back in November 2021 and I love to be back. Recently, per May 2022, I got promoted to Food and Beverage Assistant Manager.
What was your first impression of the Promenade Hotel?
My first impression was that it is a really good and big hotel with a lot of history. After the renovation that we finished last year, it is even more beautiful, and it has a great atmosphere to work.
What makes the Promenade Hotel suitable for welcoming people from all around the world?
It makes it suitable for guest all around the world because we have a lot of international associates and with LEOβS International Flavors everybody can feel like home and taste something authentic like back home.
What do you value most in the organization of diplomatic events at the Promenade Hotel?
What I value the most is the great appreciation that you get from the diplomatic events, all the diplomats together also make it a great way to learn new cultures and traditions.
What did you learn so far by working with diplomats? Some tips, rules or values to share?
What I learned so far is that the diplomatic world is not that formal as it seems. You can make a good conversation with the diplomats and they are open for it. Naturally, not all people are the same so you really need to see if you can have a conversation. Another value is if you work a lot with diplomats you get to know what you expect and what they want so you know whenever they have a diplomatic event you know what to do.
Which Food Festival has been your favorite so far or would you like to experience?
That is a difficult question because I worked so many Food Festivals throughout the years.But If I need to name a favorite than it will be Peru (that was my first Food Festival back in 2017) or Ecuador.
What local food(s), from abroad, have you tried already?
When we organize the Food Festivals I always try as much as possible so we know what to serve to the guest. Therefore, I tried a lot of foods from abroad so far!
What is your favorite drink or dish at LEOβs International Flavors?
My favorite drink from LEOβS is going to be the Ginneken Gin & Tonic, because I really like the strong flavors from that gin (which is made here in The Netherlands!) and has a long history that goes back to Willem van Oranje. My favorite dish is the Beef Tataki from Japan or the Taco from Mexico because I really like the flavors and the combination in the dish that the kitchen did perfectly.
What sustainable development goal do you value most? Why this one?
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
I think it is important for everybody to have decent work and a good work place. And I think this is really important: achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. That is why I chose this one.
What piece of good advice did you receive, and from whom, that you would like to forward?
I didnβt receive this advice from anyone but it is just something that I experienced myself.No matter how many people tell you that you canβt reach your goal, always believe in yourself if you really want something you can do it and prove those people wrong!
Putin will never stop or be satisfied with what he got,and beside this, all of us will be compelled to live for a long timeunder conditions of uncertainty
Interview by Corneliu Pivariu
The Russian personality agreed to grant me this interview under the condition of anonymity, something I accepted as I know him since more than a decade and understand the reasons behind his decision.
To call himβXβ is too prosaic, “Zβ is something I believe it is not fit for the present symbolism and also it is the last letter of the alphabet, so I will call him in this interview “Mister Yβ.
An … uncomfortable introduction, for some … uncomfortable questions
The Russian-Ukrainian families seemed to be in the past … a genuine people. The Poles seem to be closer to them (Ukrainians) as the former strongly influenced the language of the latter. Otherwise, the Ukrainians did not get along with any neighbouring state or people or enter a lasting and dependable friendship relation. As far as the majority of minorities they are living with together for centuries are concerned, they turn against them and hate them while the authorities oppress them.
The social cohesion, the national identity and religion are not strong enough to unite them in one vigorous nation.
Although they naturally want to be a nation, the only binder uniting them now is the tragedy of the war triggered by the Russians, namely those with whom they surprisingly have the strongest historical and family ties, deeply rooted in the past, ever since the beginnings of their common history β the history of the Eastern Slavs.
Corneliu Pivariu: So, are the Ukrainians a people or a population? In the same idea, Gogol, whom the Ukrainians designate as their gratest writer wrote in Russian. Was Bulgakov a Russian or an Ukrainian?
Mr. Y: It is a well targeted issue. These are complicated, important and profound questions and the answers given could bring us closer to understanding what is going on. Of course, everybody knows about Gogolβs Polish-Ukrainian origins and about the fact that Bulgakov, who was born in Kyiv, was Russian. Nevertheless, these aspects do not establish these personsβ belonging to one or another nation. For instance, Edgar Allan Poe became an American writer although he was the son of an English woman and an Irish father, the Argentinian Creole Che Guevara became Cuban revolutionary and, as they say, the Georgian Stalin, when answering once to the question about his ethnicity he said: βI speak Russian, I think in Russian and I write in Russian. I am certainly Russianβ. Both Gogol and Bulgakov are part of the Russian culture.
Regretfully, a peopleβs culture and traditions do not mean that the said people reached the status of a nation. The Ukrainians and the Russians were not too lucky in the process of becoming a nation, so that the nationβs forming process lasted a long time. A common territory, language and economic system are important elements of a nation, but they do not suffice. The most important component is the national idea, the national nature and the solidarity feeling.
We notice that these components were never completed either in Ukraine or in Russia. The permanent territorial and political transformations in the Euroasian area did not allow proper conditions for a true continuity, for really shaping the national elites and the national ideology. By far, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy is not the Russian Empire, and the USSR is fundamentally another state than the Russian Empire. So, the present Russia is not the successor of the former USSR, either politically or ideologically, but rather vice-versa. The named states are fundamentally different, although they existed approximately on the same territory. Any of the multiethnical states within was achieving the national policy with various results.
During the Grand Duchy of Muscovy, the notion of a nation was again very far away and the foreigners issues were decided upon the friend and foe principle. The Russian Empire, which evolution was discontinued by the revolution, was on the way of solving the issue by putting in place the Christian Orthodox religion. The Communistsβ trial of creating a new community of people, βthe Soviet peopleβ, through terror and collectivization failed.
Generally, the modern Russia and Ukraine do not have a clearly determined national policy and perspective. This is, in my opinion, the historical root of the Ukrainiansβ and Russiansβ problems concerning the self-determination and nation shaping.
C.P.: What is your take on Vladimir Putinβs declarations on the sidelines of the 350th birth anniversary of the Tzar Peter the Great, according to which Russia is not conquering but only recovering territories with reference to the invasion of Ukraine?
Mr.Y: Vladimir Putin proved to be on several occasions a not too well educated person in historic issues. I do believe that his historical research should not be taken seriously in any way. As far as if he βconquersβ or βrecoversβ territories, that should not be seen in terms of a history textbook, but in terms of interstate treaties and agreements. By deepening the research into history, there is no conflict we can stop. Any side of the conflict would have their own arguments with certain facts and historical discoveries that can not be verified. For instance, there was no Ottoman Empire until 1453, Crimea was Greek territory, Kaliningrad was German, yet there was no German state until 1871 as it was the case with Italy until 1861 etc.
The interstate documents show, in their turn, that in 1992 diplomatic relations were established between Russia and Ukraine, i.e. Russia recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state. An Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership was signed between these two states in 1997. Putin and Kucima signed in 2003 an agreement concerning the state borders, whereby the borders were drawn from Belarus to the Sea of Azov and, thereby, Ukraineβs territory was indisputably recognized in the very areas where fights are taking place now. In 2010, Medvedev and Ianukovich signed an agreement on drawing state borders, a process that was finalized in 2014. Even without going deeper into Peterβs (the Great) wars, the answer to the question of βrecoveringβ or βconqueringβ seems to me obvious.
C.P.: What do you think about Henry Kissingerβs declarations on the margins of WEF in Davos (2022) according to which the Ukrainians should resign themselves to losing certain territories in exchange for ending the war and the loss of life?
Mr.Y: I think that Henry Kissinger is a very experienced and cunning politician who is far away from charity processes.
Ending hostilities resulting in human loss is, indeed, the task number one. The issue lies in the cost of such a solution.
Ukraineβs acknowledging the loss of its territories will prove the success of Putinβs illegal actions, the absolute helplessness of the international community and guarantees, as well, Ukraineβs future liquidation and Russiaβs continuation of its attempts to βrecoverβ territories such as the Baltic states, Moldova or Kazakhstan. Besides, it will be, for instance, a telling signal for China which is analysing very carefully the anti-Russian sanctions and their consequences in the sense that Taiwan can be occupied without any punishment. Where shall we place the threats and promises coming from London, Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and elsewhere? Tens of politicians will have to end their careers.
C.P.:At the end of June the NATO summit in Spain will endorse the New Strategic Concept of the Alliance. With high probability, in the document the Russian Federation will be indicated as the adversary of the Western World, alongside China. How do you think Moscow will react to that and within what timescale?
Mr.Y: Moscow will react to that endorsment as always in a quick, threatening, nervous, provocative and senseless way. In fact Russia has no pressure tool at its disposal with the exception of energy resources and nuclear weapons. CSTO is an organization for regional consumption, the Russian economy is weakened, corruption is at an incredible level, the armed forces are ineffective, unable to fight simultaneously on more than one theater of operations on a large scale. Moscow will continue to intensify its propaganda and isolation, to initiate new special operations and provocations on NATOβs member states territories. Putin will indeed try to consolidate around him regimes who oppose the global West: Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, certain states in Africa and Latin America. He will go on trying to bring on his side China and India by using various contradictions.
C.P.: How do you assess the effectiveness of the Kremlinβs strategic communication on the sensitive topics of the confrontations in Ukraine?
Examples:
the ideea of declaring or not the mobilization of the military, be it even partial;
the human losses (especially those refering to high ranking officers) and also the material losses;
the way Moscow senses the implications of the international sanctions on the civilian and military production and on the social stability.
Mr.Y: The Kremlin uses the old Soviet strategy of keeping any information secret. The distortion of the information environment is primarily intended for the Russian society.
In the context of massive economic and military losses, the Kremlin tries to maintain its influence and authority by publishing fake news and by exaggerating its achievements.
The lack of formal mobilization, acknowledging the minimal military losses and imaginary economic gains are designed to persuade the Russian society of Putinβs successful policies and to maintain domestic stability. Toughening the criminal law in the field of extremism, restricting the constitutional rights, closing any alternative sources of information and establishing total control on the social networks are to be seen in the same context.
Beyond that, the attention is drawn by the kind of information tactics the Russian propagandists are using. I would call it βthe tactic of peculiaritiesβ. In all news broadcasts, TV debates and shows the attendees discuss peculiar details only: what missiles hit and where this evening, how the price of the gasoline increased in the United States, who urged the Europeans to spare gas and give up washing themselves, how much a Donbas inhabitant suffered in the absence of Russian soldiers, mythical birds carrying lethal viruses for the Slavs only, the way Ukraine refuses to conclude peace on Russian terms and so on. Yet nobody tackles the deep causes of the conflict, Yanukovichβs election as president of Ukraine, the close Russian-Ukrainian corruption built around the Gazprom pipeline during a decade, the Russian troops landing in Crimea on February 23, 2014 and the unfolding of the unconstitutional referendum on March 16, 2014 only, or provocations in Donbas during the spring of 2014, including military operations involving Russian military units. Everybody discusses small details and current events trying to avoid the analysis of the general picture. All that misleads the society.
C.P.: With regard to theRussian Federationβs intelligence system:
Does the Kremlin dispose of a really integrated intelligence community?
How do you assess the FSB initial appraisals concerning the real state of the Ukrainian society?
Why was Gen. Vl. Alexeiev (Deputy Head of GRU) appointed the Russian intelligence operative leader in Ukraine many weeks after February 24, 2022?
Is Russia, as it declares, in informative control of the Western military logistic flows bound for Ukraine?
Mr. Y: I think the Kremlin has a rather extended network of informants who, through the institutions of the Russiaβs diplomatic and commercial missions, are primarily relying on the Russian communities abroad. As far as the FSB analytical assessments on the Ukrainian society on the eve of the war are concerned, it is necessary to separate the assessments meant for internal briefing and the assessments meant for the Kremlin briefing. The assessments meant for internal briefing are quite objective and realistic. Nevertheless, they are not adequate for briefing the president and that is due to several reasons:
β’ Corruption, since during several years a huge amount of money was lost under the disguise of carrying out βsuccessfulβ special operations;
β’ Joint businesses on the Ukrainian territory with different businessmen such as Serghei Kurcenko;
β’ Costs for maintaining and ensuring the political opposition, including Viktor Medvedchuk and his party, the controlled transfer of certain types of businesses from Russia which incomes were to be used for preparing the future presidential election etc.
Since many years, everything was all right according to briefings and a lot of money was spent to that purpose, so it was quite impossible that someone come at a certain moment and report the real situation. President Putin could have concluded that either his subordinates were incompetent or they were deceiving him. At the same time and as far as I know, the FSB operatives acting on the Ukrainian territory had excellent knowledge of the real information yet among their leadership nobody was willing to committ political suicide. Putin likes good news only.
As far as the Gen. Vladimir Alekseev is concerned, I can express the opinion that he is an experienced fighting officer born in Ukraine, he graduated from the Ryazan Military Airborne Landing School, served in the special forces units, went through the war in Syria and is distinguishing himself by his toughness and a certain boldness in making decisions. In recent years, he headed the special operations of the Russian military intelligence abroad, Ukraine included, where the first weeks of fighting revealed certain deficiencies in the intelligence activity. Perhaps that due to all these factors, he was sent to operate directly on the Ukrainian territory.
I cannot judge how efficiently he will succeed in correcting the deficiencies. Speaking of the Russian control on the Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, one should mention that these weapons ultimately reach the Ukrainian Army. Consequently, the Russian control is not as complete as they say. Russia has, indeed, certain information on the military logistic flows, yet it has not the necessary resources to completely stall them.
C.P.: The beginning of the conflict let it be understood that Kyiv was the main strategic target, yet subsequent developments pointed to something else. How do you see Odessaβs future on a short term? Will the potential junction with the Russian troops in Transdniestria mark the completion of the strategic objective of Novorossiya (βNew Russiaβ)? Or will it mean just an intermediate stage?
Mr.Y: Kyiv was, indeed, the main target in the first stage of the war, yet the reality proved to be different. Russia had to regroup its troops and change the order of its targets. I think that the Russian troops will try to occupy Odessa and move towards Transdniestria, but only after stabilizing the situation in Donbas. Other than that, the situation changes daily and we are witnessing on the forefront a possible conflict with Latvia, which restricted the transit towards Kaliningrad. The Kremlin enjoys very much the Baltic (playing) card and will play it but that will not cancel at all its desire to cut Ukraine from the Black Sea and to tackle directly the Transdniestrian issue.
C.P.:In the framework of the present military confrontation in Ukraine, how do you assess the Russian Federationβs capacity and production pace of ballistic and cruise missiles β classical and hypersonic β as compared to the rate of their use in the battles and how restrictive is the imports component for producing these missiles?
Mr.Y: It is obvious that under current circumstances, Russiaβs using different types of missiles on the battle ground is higher than their production pace. The production pace is confronted with certain difficulties due to lack of important components of the missiles. A great part of the Russian modern military equipment depends on sophisticated electronic components imported from the USA, Great Britain, Israel, France, Germany, Holland, Japan and other countries.
The Russian cruise missile of the Iskander-K complex operates relying on American electronic components. The American gyroscope with optical fibres is used for the navigation system of the projectils of the Tornado launching complex. The Russian system of air defense TOR-M2 uses the British oscillator for controlling the radar of the platform. The same thing is valid for the Kalibr cruise missiles and many others. The GPS modules of the U-blox Swiss company, the SAITO Japanese engines, the starting engines of the American Texas Instruments Incorporated and starting generators and a French-Italian STMicroelectronics flight controller are used in the Orlan-10 UAV. It is obvious that the imposition of sanctions has limited Russiaβs possibilities, although the country can acquire some of the necessary components as they could be classified as βdouble use electronicsβ, available on commercial base.
C.P.:How credible is in your opinion the news concerning President Vladimir Putinβs real health condition?
Mr.Y: Vladimir Putin reached an age at which a person has to compulsory have some illnesses. I consider that the circulated news about his health condition is unfounded. Even so, I am certain that a very limited circle of persons possesses truthful news and not all the news about his health condition can be trusted. There are a lot of suppositions of the pseudo-experts and, I do not rule out that special fake news of different special services, including the Russian ones, is spread.
C.P.: How do you evaluate the truths/untruth concerning the real involvment of Gen. S. Θoigu, V. Gherasimov Θi Al. Dvornikov in the unfolding of the battle action?
Mr.Y: The mediocrity of the initial stage of the military operation in Ukraine confirms undoubtedly in my opinion that the authors of the operations are exactly these army commanders who commanded the designated operations. Gherasimovβs and Dvornikovβs whole career suggests that they are far from the military genius of a Suvorovβs or a Mannerheimβs. In what concern the minister of Defense Shoigu, who really wanted to enjoy the dubious fame of Marshal Jukov, he never served in the army and graduated a military department of a civilian faculty only, and has a rather vague idea about fighting operations. Consequently, Moscow was confronted with a great number of failures on the front following which the failed commanders were in fact removed from commanding positions and moved in the shadow.
C.P.: According to publicly available data, the existing human resource of the Russian Federationβs armed forces is of about 1 mil. people and the reservists number about 2 mil. people. The number of the Russian military deployed for the special operation in Ukraine is of approximately 200,000 (namely one fifth of the total active force). How can you explain Moscowβs difficulties in expeditiously replacing the forces used in battle?
Mr.Y: 2 million reservists are numbered on paper, yet they have to be called to duty. To say nothing that such calls will trigger a negative wave in the society and will publicly confirm Russiaβs incapacity of standing relying on a regular army only and Putin is very sensitive in what concern his image. A million people of the Russian military are an ordinary force which includes different military subunits and units, including those which are not directly designated for fighting operations.
The troops are complete to a level of 90%. The terrestrial and railroad troops, the navy and air-spatial ones, the anti-missiles and air defense forces which are fulfilling their duties on Russiaβs entire vast territory cannot be fully involved in a military operation. Moreover, the total number includes a rather extended apparatus of the Ministry of Defense and of the General Staff, students of the military schools as well as garrison units. If one counts everything, there remain only 30% of the mobile fighting units. One should add to that the issue of huge expenses of the Russian budget for maintaining the army in war conditions.
According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, in April 2022 only, the budgetary expenses for the national defence reached about 627 billion Rubles, namely three times more than during the same period of 2021.
C.P.:What are in your opinion the military conclusions drawn so far by the two sides from the unfolding of the military operations?
Mr.Y: After starting hostilities and significant losses, the Russian side realized the error of its tactic. The Russian Army were forced to move away from Kyiv, to change the forward moving and fighting tactic and focused on the mission of completely capture the Donbas. The military of the Ukrainian Armed Forces proved heroism in their confrontation with a stronger enemy, used a good knowledge of the terrain and were more maneuverable. Nevertheless, their miscalculations in coordinating the actions of different units and lack of offensive armaments became evident.
Russia controls the air space yet up to now it could not benefit from its advantage in the coastal area of the Black Sea area. It is obvious that both sides are confronted with a lack of resources, either human or military. The general situation is original, under the circumstances of tough confrontations whereby each of the two sides of the conflict understands that it is not the winner. As a state, Russia already lost from a strategic standpoint. In the meantime, Ukraine, in the meantime, has the chance to ultimately emerge as winner. No, not in this war, but in the geopolitical confrontation with Russia. If Ukraine is able to achieve that, it depends on primarily on the Ukrainian themselves.
The Ukrainians could save themselves through unity, through overcoming corruption, an adequate behavior and the acceptance, by the entire society, of the universal human values, tolerance included. Yet in case of Russia, achieving such goals in the near future is regretfully impossible.
C.P.:How do you assess the level of the Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the military field and security intelligence? What implications could that have on a short and medium term?
Mr.Y: I think that presently Ukraine is developing the closest cooperation in the military field with Poland, including exchanging military intelligence. The issue of confronting Russia is, for Poland, a historical one. Warsaw will exert utmost efforts in order to support Ukraine and that brings the former to a new political level in Europe. On a long run, Warsaw could become a rather significant center of attraction in the EU for the Eastern European countries while the heavyweights such as France, Germany and Italy could have their positions shaken. Moreover, in its efforts, Poland works hand in hand with Great Britain which adopted a clear and tough position towards Russia. That brings about as well the possibilities of the future development of the triangular relations among Kyiv, Warsaw and London. Will Poland be directly involved in the hostilities with Russia? I donβt think so. Russia does not have resources for that and its plans do not include yet a clash with NATO. Of course, you should always let the chance that an inappropriate dictator marginalized in a mental dead end and who feels unpunished and offended to adopt the most extreme steps.
C.P.:The Black Sea covers three areas of great interest: Crimea, the mouth of the Danube and Bosphorus. History shows us that he who controls them enjoys a significant strategic advantage.Where do you place Turkiye (Turkey) in the framework of the conflict in Ukraine?
Mr.Y: Turkey is, in my opinion, a quite strong and slippery player who plays for itself only. Turkey, as always, flirts with both sides and does not abstsain from making promises and statements and follows its own economic and political benefit. Ankara supported publicly Ukraine in the conflict and continued to maintain economic ties with Moscow and seeks to acquire from there certain types of weapons. At the same time, Turkey conducts military operations in Syria definitely without any coordination with Moscow and in spite of the latter dissatisfaction and supplies UAVs to Ukraine. Ankara showed up in the debate concerning Swedenβs and Finlandβs joining NATO.
To some in Moscow, Ankara seems to play the Russian hand but I assure you that during that debate Russia was the last thing Ankara was thinking of. Turkey has its own development strategy and apart from the countries it sees within its tough sphere of influence, all the others are not strategic allies but temporary fellow travellers.
Q.C.P.:How do you see the end of this Russian aggression against Ukraine having in mind that Putinβs agenda (and that of his heirs, let us not delude ourselves) covers, beyond Ukraine, as well: the maximum enlargement of the βRussian Worldβ, the breaking up of the EU and NATO, and discrediting and humiliating the US as a guarantor of the Western World security?
A.Mr.Y.: This war should be halted sooner or later. As a consequence, I regretfully think that Ukraine will lose for a long time part of its territory. Maybe it could recover in the future that part, yet it will be a very difficult process. It is unlikely to expect the collapse of the EU, but their leadersβ authority has already received a blow as did the United Statesβ. Once more, the whole world witnessed the inability and lack of determination of the international institutions. However, it is too early to draw final conclusions. Life and politics are unpredictable.
Q.C.P: What is your take on the idea launched by the US with regard to a new global energy order? Does this project have any connection to deglobalisation and the new policy in the field of the critical minerals as far as the energy storage is concerned?
Mr.Y: The war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia revealed the extreme vulnerability of the global energy market. This conflict brought the stateβs energy security at the forefront of the political and economic agenda and served as a catalyst for transforming the state planning in the energy sector. All the states are today concerned about deciding on the issue of assuring the stability of the regional cooperation and of the energy generation on the domestic market.
The US proposals could mean that a type of localization within the energy alliances will lead to a kind of diminishing the high level of energy interdependency in the world, something that was reached during the last decades. Such a situation should affect, of course, the processes in the field of acquiring natural resources. This tendency foresees a possible increase of the state intervention in the energy sector since all the elements of this business, including generation, transportation, prices, selecting βtrustful partnersβ, setting the emissions standards and so on became elements of the state security and stability. At the same time, mention should be made that an excessive involvement of the state in the economy can lead to distortions and negative consequences for the market. The state is hardly ever an efficient owner.
C.P: How do you assess, on a scale from 1 to 10, the endeavor of certain states to set up another financial settlement system for the international trade, different from the one based on the American dollar?
Mr.Y: There are indeed states wishing to abandon the American dollar which can be rated 10. For instance Russia is trying now to insert an alternative settlement currency in the framework of BRICS and CIS. Yet there are states which desire to abandon the dollar is 0. Therefore, I do not think it is necessary to assess this tendency on points. The issue here is efficiency, stability, convertibility and the safety of the settlement currency.
There is no real alternative to the American dollar so far and most of the countries understand that.
C.P: What is your opinion about the idea that the Russian military aggression in Ukraine is one of the main causes of a possible global food crisis?
Mr.Y: In my opinion, the Russian military operation in Ukraine influenced indeed the possible development of the global food crisis but this is not the main reason for the time being. The main reason is Russiaβs foreign policy and its propaganda around this possible crisis. Russia set for her the task to destabilize to a maximum the situation in different regions of the world. Primarily, these are some countries in Africa and Latin America. The goals pursued are to discredit the global West, to divert its resources towards solving the emergent socio-economic and humanitarian problems, to create around Russia a pool of states dissatisfied with the USAβs and EUβs actions and to try to shift the political balance of power.
C.P: What about the fact that, on June 6th, Moscow decided to classify the information concerning the level of its currency and gold reserves? What is the actual impact of that?
Mr.Y: The Kremlin decided to classify not only the information about gold and currency reserves.All the relevant informationis now classified in Russia: the budget of the Ministry ofDefense,the losses incured in Ukraine, the reports of the state and commercial banks, the membership of banks boards, data on the possessions of the officials, the number of prisoners, the number of civilian domestic protests, the real level of corruption etc. The Russian President classified all data about his children, their activities and their income. The Russian leadership say to the society that in such a way they are protecting the countryβs interests and ensure its security. In fact, the regime protects itself and all its actions aim at suppressing the oposition, at hiding the information about the incredible wealth of the presidential entourage and at holding the power in the hands of a restricted group of people.
Deliberately and for the same purpose, a break from the civilized world is taking place β renunciation to the Bologna System, the precedence of the Russian legislation against international law, Russiaβs withdrawal from the UNWTO and the Council of Europe, from the UN Council for Human Rights, the calls for abandoning the Basel agreements and the requirements for adopting standards. Modern Russia is a kingdom of distorted mirrors. The consequences can be the saddest. There is no need to speak of Russiaβs partners loss of confidence β confidence no longer exists.
The power system as such becomes more and more entangled in its own biased data and inscriptions stimulated by total corruption and by the apparent struggle, which is in fact a competition for concentrating the financial flows and the influence. And all that should lead in future to the transformation of this state. Yet you should not expect that to happen too quickly β Russia is an immense state with slow processes and a backward population, mentally retarded, who never had any rights under any power whatsoever.
C.P. Do you want, in the end to add any significant ideas to supplement the present geopolitical picture?
Mr. Y: Under the present circumstances, I would like to emphasize two obvious aspects. Firstly, all of us will be compelled to live for a long time under conditions of uncertainty. Secondly, one should become aware that there can be no certitude as far as the agreements with modern Russia are concerned. Putin will never stop and will never be satisfied with what he has. As long as he is alive, no one can count on adequate actions. So, all have to be prepared.
C.P.: I particularly thank you for your time and the honesty of your answers.
Corneliu PivariuΒ Military Intelligence and International Relations Senior Expert
A highly decorated retired two-star general of the Romanian army, during two decades he has led one of the most influential magazines on geopolitics and international relations in Eastern Europe, the bilingual journal Geostrategic Pulse.
By Mr. Akmal Burkhanov, Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Openness and transparency are considered among the most effective tools in the fight against corruption and its prevention. Thus, the efforts instigated in Uzbekistan to secure the rule of law, introduce effective forms of openness and transparency, establish genuine public control over the activities of government authorities have been gaining momentum as decisive and steadfast in nature.
As a result, initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, considerable positive strides have been conspicuous lately in the country in combating various forms of bureaucracy and corruption. In particular, new procedures have been established to ensure the openness and transparency of the activities of government bodies and organizations, so have the conditions necessary for effective public oversight. To this end, within a short period of time the system for considering appeals from individuals and corporate bodies has been radically redefined, the Peopleβs Receptions, Helplines and Virtual Reception of the President were launched. Thus, the head of state demonstrated readiness for open communication with citizens. In addition, a functioning mechanism has been set up in each ministry and government agency to work with appeals in the form of ministerial helplines and virtual receptions or field receptions.
Moreover, the widespread use of digital and online technologies has helped bolster the government accountability before the civil society. In particular, the Open Data Portal (data.gov.uz), the registered database of legal entities and business entities (my.gov.uz) and other platforms play an important role in reducing and eliminating bureaucracy, as well as combating and preventing corruption.
The adopted regulatory acts of conceptual significance and other administrative reforms aimed at preventing corruption also bear fruit in ensuring the openness of government authorities and administrative bodies.
For example, in order to prevent theft of budgetary funds, the Public Procurement Law was adopted. Now, according to this normative act, all information on public procurement is posted on d.xarid.uz portal. Efficient mechanisms of public control have been created, and the newly launched Open Budget portal has allowed the population to be directly involved in the management of budget funds.
In accordance with the 22 September 2021 Resolution of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, an effective system overseen by the local population and the general public was introduced for spending budget funds and surplus amount of the forecast of local budget revenues. The act also kick-started the Initiative Budget project.
For reference: In the first season of the Initiative Budget project in 2022, a total of 70 thousand initiatives were received from citizens, 2,215 of which won the contest. More than 6.7 million people took part in voting on these projects. Thirty-four percent of the winning initiatives were related to secondary school renovation projects.
Another example: a newly created system establishes mandatory public discussion of draft laws as well as draft regulatory acts to be adopted by the President and the government, with the launch of the portal regulation.gov.uz.
This, in turn, contributes to the transparency of important decisions planned for adoption, and the practical implementation of the principle of accountability to citizens.
One of the main achievements in this area is the improvement of press services that inform the public about the activities of government bodies and organizations. That is, all government bodies and organizations have press services, and the status of spokespersons has been raised to the level of advisers to the head of a government agency on information policy.
In addition, the maximum openness and transparency of statistical data for a wide range of domestic and foreign users has been ensured. Accordingly, open statistical data are posted on the Open Data Portal, including information on public procurement, registration of patents, medicines and medical products, public transportation, land use and other information.
Similar systemic and consistent reforms have significantly improved the position of Uzbekistan in a number of international rankings and indices, one of the main of which is the index of openness.
For example, as of 2020, Uzbekistan rose by 125 positions, to 44th in the Open Data Inventory Ranking. The introduction of the practice of disclosing indicators in 20 areas of state and public administration proved instrumental.
And, in the updated Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International for 2021, Uzbekistan climbed six positions compared to 2020, ranking 140th out of 180 countries.
As a logical continuation of the reforms, on June 16, 2021, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a decree envisaging additional measures to ensure the openness of the activities of government bodies and organizations, as well as the effective implementation of public control, which, according to both local and international experts, has become a truly groundbreaking document.
The decree approved the list of socially significant information to be posted as open data, and clearly defined government bodies and organizations that develop data, as well as procedure for publishing open data.
Committees on information policy and ensuring openness in government bodies under the Legislative Chamber and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, as well as standing commissions on information policy and ensuring openness in local government bodies under regional, district and city councils of peopleβs representatives started operating.
The Anti-Corruption Agency is tasked with coordinating and constantly monitoring the openness in the activities of government authorities, expanding the list of open data, strengthening public control and cultivating in civil servants a culture of public accountability.
A new department for ensuring the openness in activities of government bodies and organizations has been created within the Agency structure.
Based on the information disclosed by government bodies and organizations, local media, including major media outlets, published about 140 news reports and journalistic investigations.
The Anti-Corruption Agency has established a system of continuous monitoring of the timely placement of socially significant information in designated resources as open data approved by the Decree.
For example, in January-February 2022, the Agency published on its official website reports on the study of the work done by 135 ministries and departments, local government bodies regarding the placement on its official websites and the Open Data Portal of the necessary information about its activities, in particular about public procurements, expenses for business trips of officials and for the reception of foreign guests, and others.
At the same time, from December 1, 2021, sessions of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, district and city Councils of peopleβs representatives are mandatorily broadcast live on TV channels and the Internet. The live broadcast of the sessions serves to raise the level of legal awareness of citizens and their direct acquaintance with the content and significance of the discussed legislative acts, as well as with the opinions of the experts who developed them.
Over the past period, the Agency submitted 26 statutory notices and 35 warning letters to ministries, departments and local governments to eliminate violations identified as a result of monitoring and analysis.
Now it is planned to work on this issue on an ongoing basis, to organize seminars with the involvement of experts from nongovernmental organizations working in this area. One of the main issues on the agenda is expanding the list of open data and raising it to a qualitatively new level, developing proposals for the further development of the area.
Over the past period, legislation on the activities of government bodies and organizations in the field of openness has been fully documented, reasonable proposals have been developed to fill existing gaps and improve mechanisms that do not give the expected results. In particular, three laws, one resolution of the President and three resolutions of the government and one departmental document aimed at regulating the openness were adopted.
For example, a draft law βOn amendments to the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on administrative responsibilityβ has been developed. According to it, the new Code of Administrative Responsibility is supplemented by a new article 2157, which provides for a fine of 3 to 10 reference calculation values for officials of government authorities who violate the requirements of openness legislation.
Another important issue is that in accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan βOn additional measures to further improve the activities of the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistanβ, a Public Control Development Fund was established under the Agency.
From now on, the preparation of materials on the openness of the activities of government bodies and organizations, the financing of projects of NGOs, other civil society institutions to ensure openness in government bodies and organizations, as well as research in this area and a number of other areas will be implemented at the expense of the Fund.
Also, at the expense of the Fund, the work of a call center with a single short number β1253β was established, which allows citizens to promptly report facts of corruption.
In addition, the Agency plans to form an Openness Index (rating) of government bodies and organizations and publish the rating based on the results of each year.
Most importantly, the Index allows to visually show the level of openness of any government body and organization to the public.
The Anti-Corruption Agency pays special attention to further improving the position of Uzbekistan in international rankings and indices by improving the efficiency of work in this area.
In particular, to improve the position of the country, a comprehensive analysis of the Open Government Factor, WJP Rule of Law Index, was carried out (Uzbekistan ranked 122nd out of 139 countries with the highest index over the past 6 years in terms of the Open Government Factor – 0.37 points in 2021). Based on the results of the analysis, a program of measures was developed to improve the countryβs position in this international index. In addition, as of 2022, steps are being taken to further improve and update Uzbekistan rankings in the Open Data Inventory, the Rule of Law Index, the Global Open Data Index, and the Open Data Barometer.
If we want to achieve fundamental changes in the field of openness, we must, of course, meet the requirements of generally recognized standards through membership in international organizations. In this regard, Uzbekistan became a member of the International Open Data Charter last year. The Charter works to ensure openness and transparency of information from over 150 governments and organizations around the world.
The Agency established close cooperation with this organization and, together with the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, developed recommendations and the Final Report on open datasets on combating corruption in Uzbekistan. The priority is to further expand access to open data, create an open data infrastructure based on international standards.
In a word, the policy of openness and transparency in Uzbekistan will now only gain momentum, the government will be even more open, greater transparency will be ensured, cooperation between citizens and authorities will continue to improve and develop. After all, openness and transparency are not only a requirement of the time, but also a prerequisite and essential pillar of reforms in the New Uzbekistan.
Could this have anything to do with the Abraham deal and the balances that need to be kept with Israel?
By Eleni Vasiliki Bampaliouta
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought about great changes in the international system. And the international community may have condemned the Russian invasion on the other hand, but there is a “distancing policy” from the big Arab countries and the countries of the Middle East. They avoid themselves taking a stand and participating in the Western sanctions campaign imposed on Russia. The reasons are clearly economic and geopolitical.
In the last two years, the “Abraham Agreement” has brought about general developments in the Arab world at key points, especially in the normalization of the relations between the Arab countries and Israel. On the other hand, President Biden has focused America’s strategic interest in the Pacific, with a corresponding reduction in its involvement in the Middle East and the Gulf.
Arab countries are trying to find balances, new friendships and alliances in order to face the security threats they face, which are worsening after the US withdraws from the region. A conflict in Ukraine that will leave the US victorious and Russia defeated is expected to have consequences for this more autonomous course that the Arab countries want to have, as they will face all-powerful world power, the US.
The countries of the region are not in favor of Russia but more in favor of a multipolar international system and for this reason they initially chose the tactic of so-called “creative neutrality”. In the UN vote, they all agreed with the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although this does not mean, of course, that they still do not have a balance with Russia. In this conflict, the United States is clearly pursuing a strategic halt and defeating Russia. But they do not hide their desire to advance the Iran nuclear deal, which would lead to the cessation of economic sanctions against Tehran and at the same time the provision of oil and gas, which could meet the needs arising from the effort to reduce Russian exports. The Gulf states, on the other hand, would like to maintain a strong Russia that works as a counterweight to Iran, and also see rising oil and gas prices (for the time being for lack of other alternatives) as the only opportunity to boost their revenues. .
Both Saudi Arabia (because of Kasogi’s assassination) and the UAE consider that the US has not provided them with the necessary support in the face of the Houthi threat in Yemen and that the US is not consistent in its commitment to security guarantees. And of course they are suspicious of Washington’s critical stance on democracy and rights, which could be directed directly against monarchies. The UAE in particular has viewed with suspicion the strengthening of Washington’s relations with Qatar and the discussion of an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.
But for the UAE there is another important factor, as in recent years they have attracted Russian funds and now Russian oligarchs are seeking safe haven in Dubai. Israel, which has traditionally maintained good relations with Moscow and President Putin, sees Washington as a “red line” in its efforts to advance the deal with Iran, but has received other messages from Moscow. On the day that Israel condemned the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow hastened to condemn the occupation of the Golan Heights. The Israeli Armed Forces have also secured military cooperation with Moscow that allows them to conduct operations in Syrian airspace, usually targeting groups or bases of pro-Iranian forces that pose a serious threat to Israel’s security.
Egypt, despite increasingly close defense cooperation with the United States, maintains traditionally close ties with Moscow and a country that is dependent on the import of grain from Russia, on which the internal social peace, the discreet attitude of not severing relations with Russia is the only, albeit obligatory, option. The big nightmare for the Middle East and North Africa is also the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis in the food sector, as large shortages of food and especially cereals are very likely (Egypt imports from Russia and Ukraine 85% of its needs in cereals).
Rising fuel and energy prices and food shortages are the “recipe” for social tensions and explosions in an environment that is particularly sensitive and still has vivid memories of the Arab Spring.
Article information source: Liberal.gr, TIME, Al Lazeera
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, international grains prices, especially wheat, corn and sunflower, have soared. The circumstance has abruptly aggravated the already serious shortage of grains due to frequent droughts and other adverse climatic variations, now developing into a global food crisis. According to the U.N. World Food Program, 49 million people in the developing world are falling into peril of famine, manifested by riots and protestations in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, and by destabilizing dynamics in the Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad, among others[2].Β
To be noted, Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters that together supply some 30% of global wheat exports. The West has imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia, especially the exclusion of the country from the SWIFT, or a dominant on-line system for U.S. dollar-based international settlement, that impedes the country from exporting. Besides, the Western governments and mainstream media are denouncing Moscow for minelaying against major ports in the Black and Azov Seas, especially Mariupol and Odessa
Yet, such minelaying against the port of Mariupol is at least self-inflicting for Russia, as a significant portion of Russiaβs grain exports also depends on the portβs capacity and secure sealines of communications in the two Seas[3], Thus, Moscow surely finds it most rational to keep Mariupol mine-free, while, with its significant superior naval power, putting naval blockade against Ukraineβs naval operations, replenishment and trade with strategic implications.
On the other hand, Ukraine will find itself compelled to take an anti-access denial strategy against Russiaβs naval power, by actively employing sea mines as well as coastal defense cruise missiles[4]. This is because Ukraineβs naval power is highly inferior to that of Russiaβs Black Sea Fleet. Also, its counter-amphibious assault land and air power are also very limited, especially at the initial phase of the war when the country had to fight in international isolation without any substantial military assistance and arms transfer. In early March, Belarus President Lukashenko inadvertently showed a classified map on Russiaβs military plan to attack Ukraine, including amphibious assaults against Odessa[5].
Such a strategy has become obvious and turned out somewhat effective in the mid-April when Ukraine used its home-grown anti-ship cruise missile, Neptune, to have successfully sunk the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, Moskva, with assistance of the U.S. military intelligence to locate and target the ship at the offshore of Odessa.
Most plausibly, therefore, it may be Ukrainian troops that have laid mines against possible Russiaβs amphibious assaults aimed to occupy Mariupol and Odessa. Given close intelligence cooperation between Washington and Kiev, the minelaying was likely done according to the advice of U.S. military intelligence.
No wonder, Moscow attributes the minelaying to Kiev[6], and has swiftly de-mined the Mariupol port while securing safe passage open through the Azov Sea[7] In reality, Kiev remains reluctant to de-mine for setting up protected corridors[8].
Amid the intense interplay of war propaganda and counter-propaganda, Westβs denunciation against Russiaβs minelaying has hardly turned out be cogent in the BRICS and other major developing nations that have not partaken in U.S-led Western economic sanction against Russia.
In response to growing international pressure, Moscow says that, if the West lifts its economic sanctions, it is now ready to lift its blockade against seven Ukrainian ports, including Odessa and set up protected sea corridors for international shipping[9]. Currently, Moscow and Ankara are gearing up for talks to realize these corridors in the Black Sea[10].
In the evolving global food crisis, the developing world will largely welcome Russiaβs move to fill the supply gap, especially because the country expects a large grain harvest to support higher exports this year[11].
Consequently, the West faces a dilemma. If the West decides to lift the current sanctions, that will constitute a confirmation of Russiaβs aggression against Ukraine, accelerating the weakening of the existing liberal international order. Conversely, if the West chooses to continue the sanctions, that will deepen the emerging food crisis and the instability of many developing countries, pushing them away toward authoritarianism and further weakening the international order. Then, for grains imports from Russia, developing countries will have to rely on an alternative on-line system for international settlement, most probably, Chinaβs Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) that has seen a gradual and steady growth in the networking, in tandem with many infrastructure building projects under the Bridge and Road Initiatives across the developing world
Most importantly, such a plausible outcome involves significant risks to further weaken the key currency role of the U.S. dollar as an essential base of the U.S. economic hegemony and the U.S.-led international order. This is particularly so because the U.S. Federal Reserve is about to launch a full-scale quantitative tightening that will involve a devastative effect on the deepening structural vulnerabilities of the U.S. national economy ridden with huge cumulative federal debts.
Thus, it is China that will probably get most out of the ongoing politics of a global food crisis, while pulling Russia more onto its geo-economic orbit.
Now the West has to reconstruct a comprehensive approach to the Ukraine war, by overcoming its myopic attention to the military dimension.
About the author:Β
Prof. Dr. Masahiro Matsumura
Prof. Dr. Masahiro MatsumuraΒ is Professor of International Politics and National Security, Faculty of Law, St. Andrew’s University (Momoyama Gakuin Daigaku). He is Member of IFIMES Council.
The views expressed in this explanatory note are the authorβs own and do not necessarily reflect IFIMES official position.
Openness and transparency are considered among the most effective tools in the fight against corruption and its prevention. Thus, the efforts instigated in Uzbekistan to secure the rule of law, introduce effective forms of openness and transparency, establish genuine public control over the activities of government authorities have been gaining momentum as decisive and steadfast in nature.
As a result, initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, considerable positive strides have been conspicuous lately in the country in combating various forms of bureaucracy and corruption. In particular, new procedures have been established to ensure the openness and transparency of the activities of government bodies and organizations, so have the conditions necessary for effective public oversight. To this end, within a short period of time the system for considering appeals from individuals and corporate bodies has been radically redefined, the Peopleβs Receptions, Helplines and Virtual Reception of the President were launched. Thus, the head of state demonstrated readiness for open communication with citizens. In addition, a functioning mechanism has been set up in each ministry and government agency to work with appeals in the form of ministerial helplines and virtual receptions or field receptions.
Moreover, the widespread use of digital and online technologies has helped bolster the government accountability before the civil society. In particular, the Open Data Portal (data.gov.uz), the registered database of legal entities and business entities (my.gov.uz) and other platforms play an important role in reducing and eliminating bureaucracy, as well as combating and preventing corruption.
The adopted regulatory acts of conceptual significance and other administrative reforms aimed at preventing corruption also bear fruit in ensuring the openness of government authorities and administrative bodies.
For example, in order to prevent theft of budgetary funds, the Public Procurement Law was adopted. Now, according to this normative act, all information on public procurement is posted on d.xarid.uz portal. Efficient mechanisms of public control have been created, and the newly launched Open Budget portal has allowed the population to be directly involved in the management of budget funds.
In accordance with the 22 September 2021 Resolution of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, an effective system overseen by the local population and the general public was introduced for spending budget funds and surplus amount of the forecast of local budget revenues. The act also kick-started the Initiative Budget project.
For reference: In the first season of the Initiative Budget project in 2022, a total of 70 thousand initiatives were received from citizens, 2,215 of which won the contest. More than 6.7 million people took part in voting on these projects. Thirty-four percent of the winning initiatives were related to secondary school renovation projects.
In addition, a system was instituted whereby the sale of public property, real estate, land plots, vehicles, license plates, the right to build and install outdoor advertising facilities, those for speed cameras should be realized through open online auction (https://e-auksion.uz/).
Another example: a newly created system establishes mandatory public discussion of draft laws as well as draft regulatory acts to be adopted by the President and the government, with the launch of the portal regulation.gov.uz.
This, in turn, contributes to the transparency of important decisions planned for adoption, and the practical implementation of the principle of accountability to citizens.
One of the main achievements in this area is the improvement of press services that inform the public about the activities of government bodies and organizations. That is, all government bodies and organizations have press services, and the status of spokespersons has been raised to the level of advisers to the head of a government agency on information policy.
In addition, the maximum openness and transparency of statistical data for a wide range of domestic and foreign users has been ensured. Accordingly, open statistical data are posted on the Open Data Portal, including information on public procurement, registration of patents, medicines and medical products, public transportation, land use and other information.
Similar systemic and consistent reforms have significantly improved the position of Uzbekistan in a number of international rankings and indices, one of the main of which is the index of openness.
For example, as of 2020, Uzbekistan rose by 125 positions, to 44th in the Open Data Inventory Ranking. The introduction of the practice of disclosing indicators in 20 areas of state and public administration proved instrumental.
And, in the updated Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International for 2021, Uzbekistan climbed six positions compared to 2020, ranking 140th out of 180 countries.
As a logical continuation of the reforms, on June 16, 2021, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a decree envisaging additional measures to ensure the openness of the activities of government bodies and organizations, as well as the effective implementation of public control, which, according to both local and international experts, has become a truly groundbreaking document.
The decree approved the list of socially significant information to be posted as open data, and clearly defined government bodies and organizations that develop data, as well as procedure for publishing open data.
Committees on information policy and ensuring openness in government bodies under the Legislative Chamber and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, as well as standing commissions on information policy and ensuring openness in local government bodies under regional, district and city councils of peopleβs representatives started operating.
The Anti-Corruption Agency is tasked with coordinating and constantly monitoring the openness in the activities of government authorities, expanding the list of open data, strengthening public control and cultivating in civil servants a culture of public accountability.
A new department for ensuring the openness in activities of government bodies and organizations has been created within the Agency structure.
Based on the information disclosed by government bodies and organizations, local media, including major media outlets, published about 140 news reports and journalistic investigations.
The Anti-Corruption Agency has established a system of continuous monitoring of the timely placement of socially significant information in designated resources as open data approved by the Decree.
For example, in January-February 2022, the Agency published on its official website reports on the study of the work done by 135 ministries and departments, local government bodies regarding the placement on its official websites and the Open Data Portal of the necessary information about its activities, in particular about public procurements, expenses for business trips of officials and for the reception of foreign guests, and others.
At the same time, from December 1, 2021, sessions of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, district and city Councils of peopleβs representatives are mandatorily broadcast live on TV channels and the Internet. The live broadcast of the sessions serves to raise the level of legal awareness of citizens and their direct acquaintance with the content and significance of the discussed legislative acts, as well as with the opinions of the experts who developed them.
Over the past period, the Agency submitted 26 statutory notices and 35 warning letters to ministries, departments and local governments to eliminate violations identified as a result of monitoring and analysis.
Now it is planned to work on this issue on an ongoing basis, to organize seminars with the involvement of experts from nongovernmental organizations working in this area. One of the main issues on the agenda is expanding the list of open data and raising it to a qualitatively new level, developing proposals for the further development of the area.
Over the past period, legislation on the activities of government bodies and organizations in the field of openness has been fully documented, reasonable proposals have been developed to fill existing gaps and improve mechanisms that do not give the expected results. In particular, three laws, one resolution of the President and three resolutions of the government and one departmental document aimed at regulating the openness were adopted.
For example, a draft law βOn amendments to the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on administrative responsibilityβ has been developed. According to it, the new Code of Administrative Responsibility is supplemented by a new article 2157, which provides for a fine of 3 to 10 reference calculation values for officials of government authorities who violate the requirements of openness legislation.
Another important issue is that in accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan βOn additional measures to further improve the activities of the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistanβ, a Public Control Development Fund was established under the Agency.
From now on, the preparation of materials on the openness of the activities of government bodies and organizations, the financing of projects of NGOs, other civil society institutions to ensure openness in government bodies and organizations, as well as research in this area and a number of other areas will be implemented at the expense of the Fund.
Also, at the expense of the Fund, the work of a call center with a single short number β1253β was established, which allows citizens to promptly report facts of corruption.
In addition, the Agency plans to form an Openness Index (rating) of government bodies and organizations and publish the rating based on the results of each year.
Most importantly, the Index allows to visually show the level of openness of any government body and organization to the public.
The Anti-Corruption Agency pays special attention to further improving the position of Uzbekistan in international rankings and indices by improving the efficiency of work in this area.
In particular, to improve the position of the country, a comprehensive analysis of the Open Government Factor, WJP Rule of Law Index, was carried out (Uzbekistan ranked 122nd out of 139 countries with the highest index over the past 6 years in terms of the Open Government Factor – 0.37 points in 2021). Based on the results of the analysis, a program of measures was developed to improve the countryβs position in this international index. In addition, as of 2022, steps are being taken to further improve and update Uzbekistan rankings in the Open Data Inventory, the Rule of Law Index, the Global Open Data Index, and the Open Data Barometer.
If we want to achieve fundamental changes in the field of openness, we must, of course, meet the requirements of generally recognized standards through membership in international organizations. In this regard, Uzbekistan became a member of the International Open Data Charter last year. The Charter works to ensure openness and transparency of information from over 150 governments and organizations around the world.
The Agency established close cooperation with this organization and, together with the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, developed recommendations and the Final Report on open datasets on combating corruption in Uzbekistan. The priority is to further expand access to open data, create an open data infrastructure based on international standards.
In a word, the policy of openness and transparency in Uzbekistan will now only gain momentum, the government will be even more open, greater transparency will be ensured, cooperation between citizens and authorities will continue to improve and develop. After all, openness and transparency are not only a requirement of the time, but also a prerequisite and essential pillar of reforms in the New Uzbekistan.
By Eshmatova Feruza, Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman).
In the Republic of Uzbekistan, where more than 35 million people, representing more than 140 nationalities and ethnicities live, in accordance with the Constitution everyone has equal rights and obligations. It must be recognized that ensuring fundamental human rights and freedoms is a priority among the reforms carried out in Uzbekistan.
First and foremost, reforms in the field of human rights are directly related to The Strategy of Actions on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017-2021, which was adopted at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
As part of this historic document, much work has been done through annual state programs to ensure the rule of law, improve the judicial system, liberalize the penitentiary system, ensure gender equality, prevent torture, ensure openness and transparency, strengthen freedom of speech and to provide another opportunity for those who have lost their way and to integrate them into society on the basis of humanitarian principles.
In this regard, the adoption of the National Human Rights Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2020 was one of the important steps in ensuring human rights.
In addition, good results have been achieved in cooperation with the International Labor Organization and the World Bank to eradicate forced labor and child labor.
Particular attention is also paid to ensuring the rights of people with special needs. In particular, a new law on the rights of persons with disabilities entered into force in 2021. The Parliament of Uzbekistan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Most importantly, these positive changes have been recognized and supported by the international community. The fact that Uzbekistan was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first time is also the practical result of five years of reforms.
Undoubtedly, the role of the Strategy of Actions in ensuring new modern and effective mechanisms for the protection of human rights and freedoms in the activities of the Institute of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman), established in 1995, is invaluable.
Since it is within the framework of the Strategy of Actions, the Ombudsman has the right, in accordance with the law, to apply to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, participate in its sessions and express his opinion on all issues considered by the court, to apply to the courts in the interest of citizens and without payment of state duty, to apply to the committees of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan with a proposal to consider the issue of hearing the information of representatives of public authorities on eliminating the identified violations of the legislation in the field of rights and freedoms of citizens, to make submissions to the heads of state bodies and other organizations on the elimination of identified violations of legislation in the field of human rights and freedoms, the reasons and conditions that make them possible for consideration within the prescribed period.
In addition, in 2019, the institution of the National Preventive Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture under the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for human rights (Ombudsman) was created and strengthened by the relevant legislation. According to it, the Authorized Person should take measures to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment through regular visits to places of detention.
As a logical continuation of the reforms, two presidential documents concerning the activities of the Ombudsman were signed this year. The Resolution of the Head of the state “On additional measures to improve the system of detection and prevention of torture” dated June 26, 2021 approved the system of detection and prevention of torture in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international human rights law, improved the mechanism of prompt and impartial consideration of appeals and mechanism of bringing the perpetrators to justice, providing victims of torture with social, legal, psychological and medical assistance and compensation. Also, the identification of cases of torture and the widespread involvement of civil society institutions in their prevention was identified as priority areas, and the activities of the NPM under the Ombudsman were further improved.
In particular, public groups have been created under the Ombudsman to identify and prevent cases of torture. They are responsible for revealing the facts of torture and sending petitions to the appropriate state body for their prompt elimination, as well as for participating in the consideration of appeals on cases of torture and developing methodological recommendations for the examination of cases of torture.
Another document is the Decree of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to improve the activities of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) ” dated September 10, 2021. One of the main innovations of the document is that it endowed the Ombudsman with the right of legislative initiative.
This is due to the fact that the most effective proposals for the protection of human rights are formed in the daily activities of the Authorized Person for Human Rights, in direct interaction with the people, state and public organizations, the judiciary and the expert community. Problems that need to be solved also arise in this process. In this regard, the new Decree will serve to strengthen the practical significance of the institution of the Ombudsman.
The above Decree of the President also strengthens the activities of the Ombudsman in the regions. It was approved that from January 1, 2022, regional representatives of the Ombudsman will work on a permanent basis. This will help to solve problems and questions of our citizens locally.
An assessment of the effectiveness of the work of the Ombudsman in any country can be made by analyzing the statistics of appeals sent directly to him/her and their consideration. This is due to the fact that appeals are sent to the Authorized Person for Human Rights only if people have confidence in him/her.
The Ombudsman together with representatives of the public systematically organized “monitoring visits” to places of detention of persons with limited freedom of movement, and 177 monitoring visits were carried out in 2021 (76 in 2020).
During the visits, detention conditions for persons with limited freedom of movement, including housing, food, labor, the condition and quality of medical care, awareness-raising and educational work with persons with limited freedom of movement, compliance with sanitary and hygiene requirements during the coronavirus pandemic were examined, and other similar cases were studied.
It is noteworthy that during these monitoring visits, media representatives, who were given the opportunity to see the conditions in penitentiary institutions with their own eyes and personally meet with convicts and prisoners also took part.
It should be noted that the Ombudsman also took an active part in the presidential election on 24 October 2021. In particular, during monitoring visits to penitentiary institutions the Ombudsman studied the issues of equipping the polling stations in accordance with the established requirements in terms of ensuring the right of voters to vote by secret ballot without any pressure or barriers.
In order to ensure the right of voters to choose and the right of candidates to campaign, the issues of creating equal conditions for campaigning of candidates, their proxies and political parties through meetings with citizens were also studied.
At the same time, in cooperation with representatives of the Association of Disabled People of Uzbekistan, the conditions created for people with disabilities were studied. In 2021 elections, separate booths were allocated for people with disabilities. Ramps were installed at the entrances and exits, the visually impaired were provided with stencils with the Braille alphabet, sign language interpreters were involved to polling stations. As a result, the obligations enshrined in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were fulfilled and conditions were created for this category of citizens to exercise their electoral rights in full and on an equal basis with others.
In conclusion, it should be noted that within the framework of the Strategy of Actions significant work has been done and important steps have been taken to ensure human rights, honor and dignity, as well as to strengthen and support the activities of the Ombudsman. As a result of the reforms carried out in 2020, Uzbekistan for the first time in its history was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term by a majority vote at the UN General Assembly. At the same time, we understand that this decision places a huge responsibility on Uzbekistan and that the protection of human rights is Π° continuous process.
That is why the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan has put forward the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for the next five years. This document, based on the new principle “human – society – state”, embodies the idea of “New Uzbekistan – People’s and Humane state”.
The Development Strategy also seeks to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of everyone through the Sustainable Development Goals, planned until 2030 and adopted on the principle of Β«Leave no one behindΒ».
Undoubtedly, these results are worthy of recognition, but we still have many goals ahead. I think that the chain of reforms to ensure human rights and interests will continue to produce positive results every year.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, also diplomatic spouse, sent me a link to a very interesting volunteer initiative. This is how I came across this project by Maria Yemelianova, wife of a Ukrainian diplomat now posted in Germany. Then I discovered the nice lady behind it and asked her to tell me her story.
Born in Zhytomyr, not far from Ukraineβs capital, she studied international relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She says: βthere I met some true friends and most importantly, I met a handsome red-haired guy who later became my husband, my inspiration and my support.β
This is how most of our diplomatic stories begin⦠a girl meets a boy and then they start their diplomatic journey together.
Their first foreign assignment together started in 2019 in Berlin, the city that I have just left behind a year ago⦠Strangely and probably, because of the pandemic restrictions in Germany, we have never met while we were both living there, but reading her story reminded me of the city and my life in the German capital.
Indeed, I always said that the cities where your children are born will forever be bound to your heart and will hold a special place in it. To me, it is Vienna, to her, itβs Berlin.
For Maria, 2022 meant the start of a terrible war in her beloved country. She confesses with emotion: βI was in despair, crying and constantly watching the news. My husband was always busy, so I experienced these great emotions all by myself. One day I realized that I should do something for my homeland, I should fight the enemy on my own way.β Her touching words are an expression of her feelings for a country that is now under attack. I have seen this patriotism in many of her fellow Ukrainians over the last few months.
As cooking had been her hobby for the past 15 years and she had attended many courses and master classes, she decided to create a charity project out of it.
Maria Yemelianova
βI was working on recipes and one day I also found a professional photographer who had nothing to do with cooking but was known in Ukraine for her photos. She agreed to help me as a volunteer and we filmed 8 recipes together. We then edited texts and translations (our cooking classes are now available in three languages ββ- Ukrainian, English and German). Almost two and a half months of productive and exhausting work paid off and now we have finally launched our charity project. All donations will go to support volunteer organizations in Ukraine, helping our army as well as civilians in the most affected areas of the country. So Iβm asking everyone who reads this article not to stay indifferent and to help Ukraine in this very difficult time! You can get all information about the course on https://gurmanka.com.ua/β.
She tells me that her husband, Maksym is devoting all his time to work these days. βWe all know that it is not the easiest time for us, Ukrainians, we all have to work hard to bring our victory closerβ.
Maria tells me that, although busy, her husband was very supportive and helped her in everything he could, entertained the children, did translations, worked as a copywriter and so on. βI always feel his strong shoulder nearby. And not only is him, the whole diplomatic community are very supportive. Our friends from different countries try to donate, share information, help to solve many issues concerning Ukraine. And we are so grateful for their help.β
She is enthusiastic and involved, as much as time allows, having three small children. βI personally would like to do more and more every day, but for now, my options are limited. My children and husband are my main responsibility. I know that, as kids will grow up, my time for professional successes will surely come and I will also be able to do more for my country.β
Indeed, there is time, as she is young and determined to work on her own projects, besides her diplomatic duties.
βFor now, all my thoughts and prayers are with my homeland! I wish that everyone in the world knows how beautiful my Ukraine is, how rich its culture and traditions are, what a delicious cuisine it has and how much it deserves peace and prosperity!β
About the author:
Alexandra Paucescu
Alexandra Paucescu- Author of βJust a Diplomatic Spouseβ Romanian, management graduate with a Master in business, cultural diplomacy and international relations studies.
She speaks Romanian, English, French, German and Italian, gives lectures on intercultural communication and is an active NGO volunteer.
