On September 11, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Mykola Doroshenko held a briefing for journalists on the state of bilateral ties.
The reason for the meeting was the recent reshuffle in the Ukrainian government. Thus, the Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was replaced by Andriy Sybiha (previously the first deputy foreign minister). Vice Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk moved to the post of Deputy Head of the President's Office. German Smetanin was approved as Minister for Strategic Industries, and Olha Stefanishyna became Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration - Minister of Justice.
The government reshuffle does not change Ukraine's foreign policy, said Mykola Doroshenko. The priority of Ukrainian diplomacy remains victory in the war, restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the infrastructure of Ukraine, he said. The constitution has outlined the country's strategic priorities, including membership in NATO and the European Union, and they also remain unchanged, the ambassador added.
The Ambassador also spoke about the areas in which Ukraine would like to develop partnership with Uzbekistan, and answered journalists' questions. Gazeta.uz provides the main quotes from the conversation.
Humanitarian aid
The number one task for Ukraine is to win on the battlefield, to oust the aggressor from our country, and for this we need the help of our allies and partners. It is very important to receive this help not only in the defense sphere, but also in the humanitarian sphere.
I would like to touch more on the energy sector. We have a difficult situation, but our partners are showing us help, we are receiving high-power transformers to restore the destroyed energy generation. I hope that Uzbekistan will also provide such assistance.
Ukraine has been living in war for two and a half years. This is a difficult challenge, but Ukrainian citizens are actively working to restore the economy. Recently, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that the country's GDP is growing by more than 3%, and businesses are adapting and working actively. It is very important for us that our partners can also get involved in providing humanitarian aid. We are counting on Uzbekistan.
Peace Summit
In June, the first peace summit on Ukraine was held in Switzerland. More than 90 states and 8 international organizations were represented at it. The final communiqué of the summit was signed by 94 states of the world. It remains open for accession, even by those states that did not take part in this summit. We expect that the Uzbek side will be able to join this communiqué.
For reference: The communiqué of the first peace summit states that the participants remain committed to the UN Charter and the principles of international law, such as the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognized borders, as well as the resolution of disputes by peaceful means.
The summit parties also agree that the use of nuclear energy must be safe, the use of nuclear weapons or threats of their use are unacceptable, food security should not be used as a weapon, and the need for a complete exchange of all prisoners of war and the return of deported or illegally displaced Ukrainian children and other citizens to Ukraine.
Restoration of Ukraine and economic partnership with Uzbekistan
The Embassy is actively working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and business of Uzbekistan. We count on active participation in the restoration of Ukraine. We expect that Uzbekistan will become part of this program both in investing in the restoration of the Ukrainian economy and in attracting labor resources.
The main problem for economic cooperation with Uzbekistan is logistics. In 2021, trade turnover between Ukraine and Uzbekistan amounted to $747 million. In just one year, we increased trade turnover to this level from $350 million.
However, after the start of the war, Russia banned the supply of goods from Ukraine in transit to Central Asia through its territory. Currently, these deliveries are carried out via the Trans-Caspian Corridor by ferry to the ports of Aktau or Turkmenbashi, and then to Uzbekistan. This greatly complicates and increases the cost of logistics. As business representatives tell me, the cost of transporting goods now ranges from 10 to 15 thousand dollars per vehicle, although previously the cost of transporting one vehicle of goods was about 4,500 dollars. We have something to offer Uzbekistan - food, grain, sunflower oil. But their price is increasing due to expensive delivery.
Nevertheless, our business is actively working, we see the prospect of increasing trade turnover between Ukraine and Uzbekistan. We would like to hold a meeting of the mixed commission on economic cooperation, which has not happened for a long time.
Following the meeting of the Uzbekistan-Ukraine Business Council in April this year, Andrey Zdesenko, President of the Biosphere Company (household and hygiene products), recently visited Tashkent. He held consultations on the possibility of opening a production facility in Uzbekistan in order to avoid logistical difficulties when delivering goods to the country.
Other promising areas of bilateral economic cooperation are mechanical engineering, construction, food supplies, processing, and IT. That is, a fairly wide range of possible cooperation, and I hope that we will soon be able to discuss this at a meeting of the mixed commission on economic cooperation.
But we are more interested in investing in our country. We invite Uzbek businesses to invest in projects to restore Ukraine. A fund has already been created for these purposes; it will be used for individual sectors of the economy, and I suggest that Uzbek businesses pay attention now and become participants in individual areas, in order to then join programs for using this money and implementing projects.
As of April, about 1,500 enterprises in Ukraine are registered by citizens of Uzbekistan. It is already a plus that your business is actively participating in the restoration of our country's economy.
Reference: In August, the Opendatabot service calculated the citizens of which countries most often founded companies in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. The leaders were Turkey, Uzbekistan, Poland and the United States. In total, since 2022, foreigners have founded 3,075 companies in Ukraine, of which Turkish citizens are 396 enterprises, or 12.9% of the total. Next come citizens of Uzbekistan - they own 312 businesses, 10.1% of the total. The top three is closed by citizens of Poland - 224 businesses, or 7.3%.
Reaction to the Russian Federation's proposal to localize UAV assembly in Uzbekistan
Regarding the visit of the Russian Prime Minister - I do not comment on the domestic politics of Uzbekistan, this is the right of your people, parliament and politicians. However, Uzbekistan, in the words of Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, stated in 2022 that it adheres to neutrality and is inclined towards a political and diplomatic settlement.
You know, sometimes announcements in the media that someone has asked for something are not always implemented. It is a long road from announcement to implementation, but this is the right of your government and its responsibility, and I hope that it will be wise enough not to produce dual-use products.
Sanctions and protection from them
From time to time, the National Security Council of Ukraine reviews sanctions lists. From time to time, some enterprises of Uzbekistan are included in them. You know what kind of enterprises, I do not want to focus on them now. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan responds to this appropriately and carries out work to neutralize the possibility of Uzbek enterprises being included in these sanctions lists.
I understand that there is a temptation for businesses to make easy money somewhere in violation of sanctions. But, as far as I know, your government and the Central Bank are very, very serious about transactions, money transfers and the conclusion of international contracts. We are very grateful for this approach. I hope that there will be no obvious violations. Uzbekistan, in general, is doing everything to avoid being included in the sanctions lists.
Uzbek mercenaries
We are receiving information from our intelligence services that citizens of Uzbekistan are among those who have signed contracts with the military department of the Russian Federation. They sign contracts in exchange for a promise of Russian citizenship. Whether they will receive Russian citizenship, I do not know, but you know about the killed Uzbeks who were returned to Uzbekistan as part of the procedures.
We have repeatedly contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan to publicly disseminate information warning citizens to refrain from participating in military actions. We also met with the mufti of Uzbekistan, and I raised this issue in a conversation with him. He said that the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan issued a fatwa, which equates participation in mercenaries with suicide.
Freedom is very expensive. We pay for this freedom with our lives, defending our land, the right to be ourselves, to preserve our history, traditions, culture and language, to return occupied territories. But what do mercenaries do, expecting to get easy money? Many of them quickly return, only in a different capacity, killed, if they manage to return to their land at all.
I will be glad if you can spread this information once again - your legislation punishes participation in mercenarism (a fine of up to 300 BRV or correctional labor for up to 3 years - for joining the military service of foreign countries, from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment for mercenarism, from 7 to 12 years of imprisonment - for recruiting a mercenary - Ed. board)
I would be glad if you could spread this information again - your legislation punishes mercenaries (a fine of up to 300 BSU or correctional labor for up to 3 years - for joining the military service of foreign states, from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment for mercenarism, from 7 to 12 years of imprisonment - for recruiting a mercenary - ed.)
Development of political relations between Uzbekistan and Ukraine
Unfortunately, the war limits the possibility of holding bilateral commissions. We proposed last year and this year to hold such an event online. The leadership of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade accepted our appeal for work, there is no decision yet.
Unfortunately, the last commission was when the current President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, in 2007. But we are ready for such a meeting. In 2021, we held political consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, and it was our turn to host them again. We agreed to hold a large business forum and business council in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro in May 2022, but the war began and all this stopped. However, business is working, and we hope that we will be able to go offline in addition to online.
Humanitarian projects
Last year, Uzbekistan invited 50 Ukrainian children for health improvement. Unfortunately, this summer, due to certain circumstances, a new such project did not take place. We hope that in the future it will be able to be resumed.
The Embassy is preparing an exhibition of contemporary Ukrainian art in Uzbekistan. We plan to open it on October 14 at the Ilkhom Theater. Together with the organizers from the Uzbek side, we have already received permission for the event from the Ministry of Justice. The works of young artists from Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kharkov, Rivne, Kyiv, Lviv will be presented there.
This will not be an auction, but simply an exhibition, but if someone expresses a desire to purchase the painting, the proceeds will be used to educate students evacuated from the occupied territories.
