President Shavkat Mirziyoyev today addressed the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In his remarks, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening international cooperation and restoring the economies of SCO countries after the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our main goal is to revitalize trade and economic ties and industrial cooperation. I am sure that an effective way to achieve it is the implementation of joint anti-crisis programs that provide for the elimination of barriers in trade, simplification of customs procedures,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
He noted that the ties within the organization in the context of a pandemic should become the basis for the SCO’s trade and economic cooperation plan.
“It is vitally important to develop concrete measures to implement a program of cooperation in the field of food security,” the President of Uzbekistan said.
“In the backdrop of the current conditions, it is important to exert joint efforts to support the needy population and reduce poverty. I propose to develop a program of cooperation between the SCO member states in this area,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev underscored. He also suggested holding an international forum in Uzbekistan to develop coordinated measures for its implementation.
The President of Uzbekistan noted that the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digitalization process. “Information technologies are becoming a driver of economic growth,” the head of state added.
He also said that he considers the statement on cooperation in the digital economy adopted at today's summit to be timely.
“I propose to develop SCO programs for the development of digital literacy aimed at educating the population,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In his opinion, the program should also include training of specialized specialists on the basis of educational programs agreed between the SCO countries.
The President of Uzbekistan noted that today humanity is faced with previously unknown infections and the fight against them is becoming a part of everyday life.
“Taking this opportunity, I express my gratitude to all our partners, first of all, Russia and China, for the great support provided to Uzbekistan in the fight against coronavirus infection,” the head of state stressed.
“In order to establish effective cooperation between the specialized clinics of the countries, we propose to create a network of medical institutions to combat diseases that cause pandemics,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. He added that within the framework of this network, mutually beneficial projects can be implemented aimed at exchanging experience in the field of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, as well as organizing the activities of joint teams of doctors.
“In this regard, we welcome the adoption at today's summit of a plan of joint measures to counter the threat of the epidemic. It is important to ensure its practical implementation, to establish an effective information exchange on the spread of dangerous infectious diseases, ”the President said.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed the opinion that during the pandemic, the need for the introduction of new remote technologies in healthcare is increasing. “In this regard, we consider it expedient to develop a concept of cooperation in the field of telemedicine. It is important in the concept to provide for the training of doctors in the telemedicine method of treating a wide range of diseases, as well as the exchange of experience,” the President of Uzbekistan added.
