Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 23 December 2019, the meeting was held of the Commission for coordinating work with priority international ratings and indexes formulated in accordance with the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 7, 2019 “On the systematization of measures to improve the position of the Republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings and indices” No. 5687.

The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Minister of Finance, the chairman of the commission for coordinating work with priority international ratings and indices Jamshid Kuchkarov.

The chairman of the commission, noted to participants in the meeting that improving positions of Uzbekistan in priority international ratings set forth in decrees and resolutions of the president is of great importance in ensuring the welfare of the nation, and to conduct state bodies’ activities based on the requirements and assessment criteria of these ratings and indices.

During the meeting, Commission’s work during the year was discussed, directions and plans of the commission for the next year were determined.

Number of ministries and agencies seconded to priority international ratings and indices, established specialized structural units. Also, contacts with rating organizations such as the World Bank, the UN Development Program, the World Economic Forum, and international rating agencies were established in 2019.

In addition, close cooperation with international rating consultants and experts has been established in order to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the process of working with international ratings and indices, work is underway on the following developed action plans to reflect and further improve the positions of the Republic of Uzbekistan in priority international ratings and indices, regarding:

 – Increasing initiativeness of ministries and agencies;

 – Improving the position of Uzbekistan in the Country risk classification system by OECD;

 – Improving the positions of Uzbekistan in political and legal ratings;

 – Improving the position of Uzbekistan in economic ratings;

 – Reflecting the position of Uzbekistan in the Global Competitiveness Index;

 – Improving the position of Uzbekistan in the Worldwide Governance Indicators of the World Bank;

 – Increasing the competitiveness of the economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan and strengthen competition in the private sector.

At the same time, during the meeting, the role of our country in international ratings and indices in 2019 was analyzed.

Despite the fact that scores earned in the “Corruption Perception Index” of Uzbekistan increased from 22 points to 23 points, the rank of the Republic in this index decreased down to 1 position. The main reason for this is that Tajikistan’s and Eritrea’s index increased from 21 to 25 points, and from 20 to 24 points respectively, from 161 to 152 rank and from 165 to 157 rank.

The Economist Intelligence Unit and the Freedom House assigned “0” score in Corruption among public officials sub-indicator. The main reasons are:

 - demolitions of citizens’ houses;

 - remaining impunity of public officials in cases of citizens’ rights violation;

 - the presence of domestic corruption;

 - deterioration of the situation with the rule of law in the judicial system.

At the meeting, reports of members of the commission and responsible research institutes were heard, relevant instructions were given to accelerate this process.

Particular attention was paid to the fact that the adopted legislative acts are not sufficiently implemented in practice, rating organizations do not receive comprehensive information about the reforms carried out in the republic, as well as removing obstacles to working with international ratings and indices.

As a result of the meeting, the necessary projects to be implemented in 2020 were identified, in particular, for acceleration of the work on inclusion of the Republic of Uzbekistan to some priority international indices where it is not reflected in, development of proposals for solving existing problems, creation of a unified portal “The Republic of Uzbekistan in International Ratings” to conduct expert analysis of projects and proposals for their implementation. It was decided to organize seminars and trainings in 2020 for representatives of the media and non-for-profit organizations with the aim to give profound knowledge on the essence of international ratings and indices.