Last Friday, a high-level delegation from the United Nations Foundation (UNF), including staff members from U.S. Congressional offices, visited Artel Electronics LLC (Artel), Central Asia’s largest home appliance and electronics manufacturer. Artel is a recent full participant of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and is the only private sector company in Uzbekistan to host the delegation.

The UNF Congressional Learning Trip to Uzbekistan, held from 11th to 16th April 2022, was designed to demonstrate the work of the United Nations in Uzbekistan, as well as highlight the country’s development needs and substantial recent progress. The delegation conducted multiple high-level meetings with Government ministers, cultural institutions, and NGOs.

During the visit, the participants toured Artel’s Rohat manufacturing plant and witnessed the production of semi-automatic washing machines, refrigerators and thermoplastics. The group also saw Artel’s innovations in sustainable technology at its R&D facility, as well as one of the company’s 34 service centres.

Peter Yeo, Vice President of the UN Foundation, said: “We enjoyed our tour of Artel and learning more about how Artel and the UN office in Uzbekistan are partnering to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It will take all of us working together—governments, the private sector, and civil society—to create the progress the world needs.”

Bektemir Murodov, Chief Financial Officer, Artel, said: “It is a real privilege to host the United Nations Foundation Congressional Learning Trip to Uzbekistan today. As a recent signatory of the UNGC we are committed to championing the Sustainable Development Goals, not only within our operations, but for the benefit of our 10,000 employees and customer base. The private sector has a responsibility to advance these principles and drive forward our country’s sustainable development.

At Artel, we are constantly striving to find ways to improve our ESG position. We are grateful for our partnership with the UN and others who provide us with the opportunity to learn from international best practice.”

In 2021, Artel became one of Uzbekistan’s first companies to become a full participant in the UN Global Compact. The company commits to uphold and promote labour standards, sustainability and human rights.

Engaging with and learning from international partners is a key part of Artel’s forward looking ESG strategy. Artel is improving the efficiency of its products, whilst finding other ways to mitigate climate chance, most recently through planting over 4,000 trees in the national “Yashil Makon” initiative. Furthermore, Artel is working to align with international standards of corporate governance as part of the company’s ongoing transformation process, including through the introduction of a professional supervisory board.

Earlier on in the week, Artel’s Head of Press Service Kamola Sobirova also participated in a panel discussion with the delegation at Westminster University in Tashkent on how to champion gender equality in the workplace. On women’s rights, the company is a leading promoter of the UN campaign on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and is implementing several initiatives both internally and externally to drive forward gender equality.