Victoria Alekseeva, Acting Professor of the National University of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Philosophy in Sociological Sciences
The problem of poverty in global coverage is an urgent problem all over the world. The fight against poverty is one of the main tasks of the socio-economic policy of each nation.
Scientists and experts from various fields agree that poverty is not always caused by economic factors, and that often the population’s quality of life, decline in income, and inability to meet their basic needs are caused by the emergence and spread of military and political conflicts, as well as environmental degradation.
Poverty reduction are constantly in the focus of the global agenda from the point of view of developing and strengthening economic cooperation, which invariably leads to the elaboration of joint solutions and strategies to improve the quality and standard of living of the population.
In this direction, one of the tasks of the Organization of the Turkic States is to create favorable conditions for trade and investment, free movement of goods, capital, services, technologies and simplification of financial and banking operations.
Uzbekistan consistently develops cooperation with the countries of the Council of Turkic-speaking States, primarily with neighboring countries. And in this direction, it is very important to strengthen economic cooperation, develop trade, entrepreneurship, and attract investment. At the past summits of the Organization of Turkic States in 2019-2021, Uzbekistan put forward a number of initiatives in this direction, in particular, the establishment of a Forum of Young Entrepreneurs and the holding of a meeting in Uzbekistan. On 19-21 September 2021, the first Forum of Young Entrepreneurs of Turkic-speaking countries was held in Tashkent with the participation of more than 250 young representatives of the business circles of the member states, as well as the 5th meeting of the Ministers of Youth and Sports of the member states of the OTS.
In the future, the Organization of Turkic States for Uzbekistan is a platform for effective and fruitful cooperation and a great potential that has yet to be realized, especially in improving the population of the member states of this organization. The OTS was primarily created on the basis of the common historical, cultural, and ethnic ties of the member states, but there is also an intensive acceleration in strengthening and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic sphere. Experts note that within the framework of this organization, trade and economic relations, investment cooperation, and industrial cooperation are reaching a new level. It should be noted that these areas are the priorities of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the countries of OTS. The successful development of joint projects by OTS members that increase the effectiveness of trade and economic cooperation significantly improves cooperation in improving the living standards of these countries’ populations. These projects include the Alat International Trade Port operating in Azerbaijan, Dostlug in Kazakhstan, the Kuryk port in Aktau, the Baku–Tbilisi-Kars railway, the Andijan-Osh-Kashgar automobile corridor.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his speeches at the OTS summits, constantly emphasizes the need to strengthen interaction between business structures.
To this end, the functioning Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is a subsidiary body of the OTS, contributes to strengthening cooperation between the business circles of the Turkic states, primarily through the interaction of the CCI of the member countries. It includes the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kyrgyzstan, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hungary. In addition to the interaction of business circles, the Chamber promotes the strengthening and development of industrial and agricultural production, attracting investment.
In Uzbekistan, the development of entrepreneurship is one of the strategic guidelines for increasing the socio-economic potential of the population, including among measures to reduce poverty.
Cooperation within the framework of the OTS in this direction is an important agenda, since it is joint projects, solutions, openness to interaction that can create a new milestone in improving the quality of life of the population of the member countries. ///nCa, 10 November 2022 (in cooperation with Embassy of Uzbekistan in Turkmenistan)