Uzbekistan is reforming rendering public services system

The first step towards a new system Public services are becoming an integral part of every person's life. For example, every day citizens are faced with the need to obtain a child's birth certificate, place him in a kindergarten and then in school, receive different information, different licenses for starting a business and developing it. In Uzbekistan today, all these processes can be carried out in one place – at the Public Services Center. It all started on December 12, 2017 at the i

Aug. 31, 2021

Civil society reforms in Uzbekistan

Upon Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s election as president of Uzbekistan in 2016, the role of a robust civil society became the cornerstone of development for a new period in the country’s history. Radical reforms have embraced all aspects of our society‘s political and social life -- with nongovernmental organizations and civil society institutions the locus for reimagining the state’s role in our lives. With this purpose in mind, President Mirziyoyev presented a flagship program

Aug. 31, 2021

Development of the economy of Uzbekistan in the first half of 2021

The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Uzbekistan. - Ed. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the economy of Uzbekistan has reached record growth rates. According to the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the gross domestic product for the first six months of this year increased by 6.2 percent. For comparison: Over the same period last year, due to the pandemic and lockdowns, the economy grew by only 1.1 percent, and in the first three months of 2021 -- 3 perc

Aug. 31, 2021

[Country Report] Cooperation between Uzbekistan and South Korea is developing in all areas

  It is a high privilege for me to address today the esteemed readers of The Korea Herald on the occasions of the 30th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence and 29th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea. After gaining independence, Uzbekistan took a worthy place in the world community. Over the years, a great creative work has been carried out. Human honor and dignity are exalted, the well-being of people is ensured, appearance of our ci

Aug. 31, 2021

US continues to seek dialogue with N. Korea: White House

The United States continues to seek negotiations with North Korea to discuss a range of issues related to denuclearization, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki affirmed Monday. Her remark comes after the UN nuclear watchdog said the North appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. "We continue to seek dialogue with the DPRK so we can address this reported activity and the full range of issues related to denuclearization," Psaki said at a daily pr

Aug. 31, 2021

US stresses 'urgent need for dialogue, diplomacy' with NK after IAEA report

The United States on Sunday stressed the "urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy" with North Korea after the UN nuclear watchdog reported that Pyongyang appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report to its board of governors that the five megawatt reactor at the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex has shown indications it has been in operation since July. "We are aware of this report. We are closely

Aug. 30, 2021

US not to take part in upcoming S. Korea-Britain naval exercise: defense ministry

The United States will not take part in the upcoming combined naval exercise between the South Korean Navy and a British aircraft carrier strike group, the defense ministry in Seoul said Monday. The joint training for humanitarian and disaster relief missions is scheduled to be held in waters off the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday, with the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is visiting South Korea as part of its seven-month world tour, taking part. Some local media reported that the US

Aug. 30, 2021

Nearly 7 in 10 S. Koreans support granting long-term stay visas to Afghan evacuees

Almost 70 percent of South Koreans support the government's plan to grant long-term stay visas to hundreds of Afghan civilians who fled their homeland to be sheltered here from the Taliban, a poll showed Monday. According to the poll of 500 people aged 18 and above conducted by Realmeter on Friday, a combined 68.7 percent of the respondents said they approve of the plan to issue long-term visas to Afghan evacuees who arrived here last week, allowing them to get jobs here. Among those who sup

Aug. 30, 2021

Yongbyon nuclear reactor appears to be in operation: IAEA report

The UN nuclear watchdog has detected "deeply troubling" indications that a key nuclear reactor at North Korea's main Yongbyon complex has been in operation since July, including the release of cooling water, an annual report showed Monday. Submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors on Friday, the report covered new developments of the five megawatt reactor, from which the North obtained spent fuel rods to extract plutonium -- a fissile material used for a

Aug. 30, 2021

Seoul's top nuclear negotiator arrives in Washington for talks on N. Korea

South Korea's top nuclear envoy arrived here Sunday for talks with his US counterparts on ways to resume dialogue with North Korea. Noh Kyu-duk's trip to Washington follows his US counterpart Sung Kim's visit to Seoul last week. "I believe we are now at a critical point to restart the Korean Peninsula peace process," Noh said of the reason for his US visit. "I came to Washington in order to continue the discussions I had with Special Representative Sung Kim in Seoul last week.&q

Aug. 30, 2021

S. Korea, Thailand agree on cooperation in health care, future industries, green technologies

The top diplomats of South Korea and Thailand agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation in future industries, health care and green technologies during their talks in the Southeast Asian country, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, came as Seoul strives to advance its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening diplomatic and economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the talks,

Aug. 27, 2021

Remaining 13 Afghan evacuees arrive in South Korea

  The second and final group of Afghan evacuees who worked alongside the South Korean government arrived here on Friday, as part of Seoul’s mission to rescue civilians fleeing the war-torn country following the Taliban takeover.  The group of 13 Afghans onboard a C-130 military jet landed at Incheon International Airport at around 1 p.m., after leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday, according to the Foreign Ministry. Their arrival came a day later than the first

Aug. 27, 2021

Kabul airport blast occurred at site used during Korea's evacuation: source

The site of the deadly attack on the Kabul airport was the same gate that South Korea used days earlier to evacuate Afghan co-workers and their family members, a source said Friday. The suicide bomb attack at the airport's Abby Gate on Thursday has left scores of Afghans and US troops dead and many others wounded. South Korea used the gate Monday to bring 26 Afghans into the airport as part of the operation to evacuate 390 Afghans. Seoul's evacuation team is known to have chosen the gate, as a

Aug. 27, 2021

Civic groups protest Japan's plan to release Fukushima water via undersea tunnel

South Korean civic groups on Friday urged Japan to scrap its plan to build an undersea tunnel to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The groups, including the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements and the Korea Radiation Watch, held a joint news conference in Seoul to warn about serious environmental problems to be caused by a dumping of contaminated water through an undersea tunnel. "If radioactive wastewater is discharged th

Aug. 27, 2021

Defense chief to visit Egypt, Oman next week

Defense Minister Suh Wook will visit Egypt and Oman next week to meet with senior officials there to discuss ways to boost defense and arms industry ties, his office said Friday. Suh plans to leave for Egypt on Sunday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's defense chief Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. It is the first time for a South Korean defense minister to visit the Middle Eastern nation, according to the ministry. During the stay, Suh will have talks with the defense chief and

Aug. 27, 2021

S. Korea sends back 1 unidentified Afghan during evacuation: foreign ministry

The foreign ministry corrected the number of Afghan evacuees brought into South Korean on Thursday to 377 from 378, saying one person had to be returned to Kabul from Islamabad due to unclear identity. A total of 391 Afghans had originally been brought from Kabul to Islamabad, but while checking their identities before departure for South Korea, officials found one unidentified person not on the evacuation list, according to the ministry. "The person was sent back to Kabul on a military t

Aug. 27, 2021

S. Korea's top nuclear envoy to visit US for talks on N. Korea

South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, will visit the United States next week for talks with his US counterpart, Sung Kim, about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday. Noh's four-day trip to Washington, D.C., starting Sunday, comes only about a week after Kim's visit to Seoul early this week, during which the two discussed humanitarian aid to the North amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's protest against military exercises between the South a

Aug. 27, 2021

Afghan evacuees in S. Korea arrive at temporary shelter in Jincheon

JINCHEON -- Hundreds of Afghan civilians who evacuated to South Korea seeking refuge from the Taliban in their homeland arrived at their temporary shelter in the country's central region Friday, where they are expected to stay for about eight weeks. The group of 377 Afghans, including 180 children and infants, which landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Thursday via a KC-330 military tanker transport aircraft, was admitted to the Leadership Campus of the National Human Reso

Aug. 27, 2021

S. Korea denounces deadly bombings near Kabul airport

South Korea strongly denounces the suicide bombings near an airport in Kabul that killed  dozens and wounded more than 100, the foreign ministry said Friday. "Our government defines the bombings as terrorist attacks, expresses deep concern that it has incurred many casualties and strongly denounces the attacks," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their bereaved families," Choi said. South

Aug. 27, 2021

US currently has enough capabilities to counter N. Korean threat: Strategic Commander

The United States has enough capability, including missile interceptors, deployed to counter any threats emanating from North Korea at least for now, the commander of US Strategic Command said Thursday. Adm. Charles Richard still highlighted the importance of an early warning system that he said can allow his country to do more with less. "I am confident that, in the least now, that we have paced the threat," the Navy admiral said when asked if he thinks the US has deployed enough in

Aug. 27, 2021