Chairperson Tanzila Narbayeva of the Oliy Majlis, the parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul)

In recent years, the authority and reputation of Uzbekistan in the international arena have increased dramatically. This can be seen from the example that the initiatives put forward by the president of our country are supported at the international level, documents of prestigious international organizations are developed and implemented on their basis.

At the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in 2020, the head of state put forward several initiatives to strengthen peace and stability at the regional and global level, ensure sustainable development, support human rights and expand constructive dialogue. He also put forward initiatives to address issues such as climate change, food security and poverty reduction.

In particular, Uzbekistan’s proposal to adopt a resolution “on strengthening the role of parliaments in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals” became especially important because it was aimed at solving problems on a global scale.

This resolution was unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly on Dec. 14 this year.

This international paper highlights the important role of parliaments in recommitting to unity, solidarity and multilateral cooperation to support an inclusive, sustainable and lasting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate action for sustainable development while leaving no one behind.

Of course, effective practical actions are being taken in Uzbekistan on issues included in the UN Global Agenda until 2030. That is, due to the comprehensive improvement of the economic, social and environmental situation in the world, significant results are achieved in terms of improving the way of life of mankind, improving the well-being of people and building a just and stable society.

In this sense, our national parliament is also actively involved in the process of achieving the SDGs. The creation of a parliamentary commission for monitoring the implementation of national goals and objectives in the sustainable development of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030 gave a new impetus to efforts in this direction.

As is known, the government of Uzbekistan has taken on 16 national goals and 125 targets for sustainable development for the period up to 2030. The 14th SDG was not accepted by Uzbekistan, as it concerns the protection of marine ecosystems.

The Parliamentary Commission regularly monitors the progress of these tasks. Particular attention in this process is paid to the sustainable development of the regions.

In particular, issues related to reducing the level of the low-income population and ensuring its employment are being studied. Constant attention is paid to strengthening food security, improving nutrition, developing agriculture and protecting motherhood and childhood.

In addition, issues such as maintaining public health, ensuring quality education, gender equality and protecting women’s rights, creating sustainable infrastructure, industrialization and innovation, ensuring openness, safety and environmental sustainability of cities and towns are analyzed in depth.

Based on the results of the study, at the meetings of the Parliamentary Commission, reports were heard from the heads of 28 ministries and agencies on the elimination of identified problems, and decisions were made to eliminate them.

The voluntary national report of Uzbekistan on the implementation of the SDGs in 2020 was presented for the first time at a high-level political forum led by the UN Economic and Social Council.

It should also be noted that several international events were organized dedicated to the work carried out in the countries of the world to achieve the SDGs, as well as the experience of Uzbekistan in this direction.

In particular, more than 30 international experts took part in the roundtable discussions within the framework of the SDG week. Last year, for the first time in history, Bukhara hosted an international forum on “Global inter-parliamentary cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” As a result of this international event, which was attended by over 500 participants from more than 100 countries of the world, the Bukhara Declaration was adopted.

In addition, the measures taken in Uzbekistan to achieve the SDGs are adequately assessed by international rating agencies. In particular, this year our country ranked 77th among 165 countries in the UN SDGs and Bertelsmann Foundation rankings.

The adoption of the UN resolution on enhancing the role of parliaments in accelerating the achievement of SDGs is significant for the parliaments and governments of our country and other countries.

From now on, our positive experience accumulated in this regard will be widely used on a global scale. This places a great responsibility on the national parliament. There are still many important tasks ahead of us that need to be completed. As the initiator of this resolution, we must lead by example in its successful implementation.

Tanzila Narbayeva is the chairperson of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Views expressed in the article are her own. --Ed.