As always, in the third week of September, the next session of the UN General Assembly began in New York. This is the 80th session. This session will go down in history. The reason is fluctuations in global politics, conflicts, and positions regarding Palestine. But this session is also important for Uzbekistan. There are several reasons for this. Political scientist Kamoliddin Rabbimov spoke about this in his column on Kun.uz.
The head of state, President Mirziyoyev, is participating in this session on behalf of Uzbekistan.
In the post-World War II period, the UN, its General Assembly, and the Security Council have been and remain the center of diplomatic, ideological, and political debates, confrontations, and struggles at the global level. This place is considered the main place for convincing the world public, expressing its views and objections. Therefore, while the UN, on the one hand, is viewed as a place of boring and formal statements, on the other hand, the main struggle - the struggle of ideas - takes place precisely here. Therefore, world leaders often personally participate in UN General Assembly sessions and make statements to the world about their views, ideas, interests, and projects.
The visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to New York can be divided into three parts.
The first part is general and one-on-one meetings with the heads of large corporations, companies, banks, and international organizations in the USA. Before the start of the UN General Assembly session, President Mirziyoyev, taking advantage of the time, met in New York with Abedayo Orunelis, a member of the board of directors and senior managing director of the Blackrock investment company, Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, John Dugan, chairman of Citigroup Corporation, as well as with the heads of NASDAQ, Boeing, Oppenheimer Holdings and dozens of other very powerful corporations and companies, and called on them to invest in Uzbekistan or implement projects in cooperation with Uzbekistan. This is, on the one hand, a situation that may seem ordinary to many countries. But the interest of powerful companies is more than just a diplomatic protocol. Because these companies, based on their real interests, are interested in countries and meet with their leaders. Naturally, the meeting is not a guaranteed project that will transition to real life. From introductory meetings to joint projects, there is a great distance. But this depends on the interest, aspirations, and interests of the parties. Uzbekistan is demonstrating an unseen aspiration to cooperate with international economic giants. And the effect of this is seen in the state's international relations, joint projects, or net foreign investments.
The second part is the main purpose of the president's visit to New York, which is the president's address to the General Assembly. On the very first day of the General Assembly session, President Mirziyoyev spoke about Uzbekistan's domestic policy, changes in the Central Asian region, and expressed Uzbekistan's position on the main conflicts in the global arena.
In particular, it was emphasized that he will not abandon the policy of reforms initiated in 2017. This is an important signal for the world community. The more often and consciously such messages are repeated, the stronger the trust in official Tashkent. Because the reputation of the state in the recent past requires such emphasis. In addition, the state policy in Uzbekistan on general and higher education, state policy in terms of creating opportunities for women, and the rule of law were discussed. President Mirziyoyev emphasized that over the past eight years, a completely new political environment has emerged in the Central Asian region. Today, there are no border issues, hidden and open confrontations between the countries of the region. In the region, unity and cooperation prevail on most issues. The President also stated that "it is important not to allow Afghanistan to become isolated" and proposed the adoption of a separate UN resolution to develop transport and logistics projects in Afghanistan.
Regarding Palestine, the president, as always, repeated the concept of "two states for two peoples." For many years, Uzbekistan has emphasized that there will be no lasting and stable peace in the region without the formation of a Palestinian state.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Uzbekistan has once again reminded the world community of its views: if this war were stopped as quickly as possible through political and diplomatic means, it would put an end to human casualties.
The third part is a convenient opportunity to strengthen relations with other heads of state who have arrived to participate in the General Assembly and to strengthen ties with other states. Therefore, the President of Uzbekistan met with many heads of state and government at the UN platform and focused on promoting the interests of Uzbekistan.
At first glance, this is a normal process. There seems to be nothing extraordinary. But not for Uzbekistan. There was a certain period when Uzbekistan was severely isolated from the world community, and the state's international status had fallen to a very low level. Today, the regular meetings of the head of state of Uzbekistan with international economic giant companies, heads of international organizations, leaders of powerful and potential states, and discussions about common interests with Uzbekistan are a real reflection of the reputational change and transformation achieved over the past eight years.
