Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19 December, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the ceremony of presenting the high International Anti-Corruption Award, held at the Congress Center of Tashkent.

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

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

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

The entry into a completely new level of Uzbek-Qatari relations and the start of the implementation of several large joint projects were noted with satisfaction. It was emphasized that the holding of the current forum is evidence of the commonality and consonance of the goals of the two countries.

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

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

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

The head of our country said that corruption is a threat that undermines the foundations of all humanity, all societies, strikes the economy, destroys the principles of the rule of law and sharply reduces people’s trust in state policy, and impedes the development of democratic institutions.

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

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that today, in the fight against corruption, Uzbekistan is implementing systemic legal and institutional reforms, working closely with the UN, OECD and other authoritative international structures. The Anti-Corruption Law has been adopted, and a corresponding Agency has been created, which is endowed with special powers.

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

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

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

The traditional International Anti-Corruption Forum is held annually in Tashkent.

In recent years, our country has risen by 42 positions in the Transparency International index; the goal has been set to increase Uzbekistan’s place in this ranking by another 50 positions by 2030.

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

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

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

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

Particular attention will be paid to further ensuring transparency of activities and increasing the accountability of government bodies, improving the open data system, strengthening the legal framework and institutional mechanisms in the fight against corruption.

Particular attention will be paid to further ensuring transparency of activities and increasing the accountability of government bodies, improving the open data system, strengthening the legal framework and institutional mechanisms in the fight against corruption.

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

Along with this, it was proposed to create a Regional Research Center on Corruption Issues to exchange experience and strengthen dialogue, conduct scientific work with the active involvement of non-governmental non-profit organizations.

Close interaction between the national Anti-Corruption Agency and foreign specialized institutions will also be strengthened, which will further increase the potential of this agency. Based on best international experience, new mechanisms will be introduced, including the institution of “preliminary study” on facts of corruption - anti-corruption investigation.

The priority task is to form a new generation, which will be inoculated with the “vaccine of honesty” from childhood. It is planned to widely implement the UN Global Resource program on anti-corruption education and increase anti-corruption activity of youth in the country.

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

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

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

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

In the category “Scientific Research and Education” the prize was awarded to Professor of the National University of Singapore John Quah (Singapore) and Professor of the University of Zagreb Suncana Roksandic (Croatia).

The awards “For Youth Creativity in the Fight against Corruption” were awarded to the non-governmental organizations “Youth4IntegrityBuilding” (Kenya) - director Damaris Aswa, and “All4Integrity” (Portugal) - founder Andre Correa D’Almeida.

Investigative correspondent Claire Rewcastle-Brown (UK) and former head of the anti-corruption department of the UK Department for International Development Phil Mason were awarded the prizes in the Innovation and Investigative Journalism category.

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