On November 16, Brussels hosted the 16th EU-Uzbekistan Cooperation Council meeting, which was attended by the Uzbek government delegation headed by the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

Today, on November 17, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan held a telephone conversation. According to the press service of Akorda, the two leaders thoroughly exchanged views on the ways to further advance the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan across the entire range of the bilateral agenda.

Eight more Russian universities intend to open their branches in Uzbekistan, said the rector of Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy at the second Russian-Uzbek educational forum that opened at Moscow State University on November 16.

On November 15, the President of Uzbekistan signed the Privatization of Non-Agricultural Land Plots Bill into Law. The Law was published by Хalq So’zi newspaper with immediate effect. 

EF Education First released the 2021 edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) on Tuesday, analysing data from two million non-native English speakers in 112 countries and regions. As worldwide levels of English improve, Scandinavia no longer dominates the top positions of this global ranking. The Netherlands held on to its number 1 spot by a comfortable margin.

The Senate convened the twenty-first plenary session on November 18, the Senate said. The senators will review the constitutional State of Emergency Bill, the Hydrometeorological Activities Law and amendments to the Protection of Consumer Rights Law.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) jointly with the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan will be administering the National Early Grade Reading and Early Grade Mathematics Assessments (EGRA and EGMA) from November 15 to December 7, 2021. This collaboration between USAID and the Ministry marks the first time ever that a national standardized assessment of this scale has been attempted in Uzbekistan.

It is planned to introduce into the Uzbekistan legislation the liability for admitting nepotism when hiring and to expand the circle of relatives who are prohibited from working together in a government organization. A draft bill on this was developed by the Anti-Corruption Agency and was posted for public input until November 30.

On November 15, the President’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, attended a briefing on the current situation in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Tashkent metro and the Russian Transmashholding (TMH) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) as part of the Tashkent metro development concept. This was announced on November 12 by the TMH's press service.

Uzbekistan hopes that the new Afghan authorities can keep their promises and international obligations, they have no other way, the Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov told the Euractiv.

On November 15, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev familiarized himself with the presentation of Tashkent transport infrastructure development projects, the presidential press service said.

Uzbekistan and the European Union are planning to create a hub in Termez for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Works are ongoing to complete a new airfield complex and to commission new air navigation equipment at the Samarkand international airport. The airport’s closure will be extended until December 15, the Uzbekistan Airports said.

The president Mirziyoyev signed a decree appointing Bakhtiyor Islamov to the position of presidential adviser in charge of coordination of law enforcement and regulatory bodies to replace Rustam Inoyatov, the president’s spokesman Sherzod Asadov said.

The Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization is launching a three-year project in Uzbekistan and KyrgyzstanЖ “Improving access to services for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in primary health care”.

Uzbek and Kazakh military will conduct joint drill at the Termez district training ground from November 17 to 24, the Kazakh Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

UNDP in the frame of the UN Joint Programme on Social Protection in Uzbekistan delivered a capacity building training “Disability data collection, analysis and use”.

Brussels will host a meeting of the Uzbekistan-European Union Cooperation Council on November 15-17, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The temperatures in Uzbekistan will sharply drop from Wednesday, Uzhydromet reported. Reportedly, on November 16, a wet and cold air mass formed over the European territory of Russia (Moscow region) will cover the northern regions of Uzbekistan, and on November 17-18 the entire territory of the country through the Volga region.