Uzbekistan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Uzbekistan with a US$30 million loan to improve education in rural areas with equipment for laboratories and other teaching and learning materials, as well as enhancing teacher training.

Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov met President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Monday, 10 December, Turkmenistan’s state information agency reported on the same day.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, has opened a limited election observation mission for the presidential election in Uzbekistan on 23 December. This follows an invitation from the Uzbek authorities and the conduct of a Needs Assessment.

Candidate to the post of the President of Uzbekistan from the initiative group of voters Akmal Saidov met voters in Karshi, Kashkadarya region on 10 December.

Candidate to the post of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov met voters in Namangan and Andijan regions on 10 December.

Iran’s visiting Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon explored avenues for the expansion of bilateral and regional relations between Iran and Central Asian states.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Uzbek counterpart Vladimir Norov on Monday stressed all-out expansion of bilateral ties.

Seventy-two Uzbek children with disabilities will benefit from the newly opened Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) point, sponsored by World Vision. The CBR point will provide social, economic, legal, and psychological support to children with special needs and their families from 18 ’mahallas’ (traditional Uzbek neighborhoods) of the Yakkasaray district in Tashkent City to facilitate greater integration of the children in the society, reducing the likelihood of the children’s placement in institutional care.

The United Nations on Monday inaugurated a Central Asian center for preventive diplomacy in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, Xinhua reported.

Preventive diplomacy is not an option but a necessity, given the gravity of so many situations worldwide, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, launching the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.