Vashingtonda AQSh hukumati, xalqaro tashkilotlar va "Paxta kampaniyasi" bilan muzokaralar olib borgan O'zbekiston Bandlik va mehnat munosabatlari vaziri Sherzod Kudbiyev "Amerika Ovozi" bilan muloqotda qator dolzarb masalalarni muhokama qildi: 2018-yilgi paxta terimi qanday kechdi? Qancha odam dalaga haydaldi? Paxta sanoati qay tarzda xususiylashadi? Ma'muriy buyruqbozlikka asoslangan tizim yangilana oladimi? Islohotlar ko'lami va tezligi kim va nimaga bog'liq? Vazirliklar bu borada qanchalik yakdil? Xalqaro hamjamiyat O'zbekistondagi o'zgarishlarni nimaga qarab baholashi kerak?
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Uzbekistan's Labor Minister Sherzod Kudbiyev says his country has a historic opportunity to revitalize its system. Speaking exclusively to VOA’s Navbahor Imamova during a visit to Washington, Kudbiyev argues that Uzbekistan is making a break with its state-dominated system of the past.
“We have a historic opportunity to privatize and modernize our cotton sector, as well as other parts of our economy,” he says.
But acknowledging that many observers, including the Uzbek people, expect reforms to come at a rapid pace, Kudbiyev argues that ultimately, the success or failure of reforms won't "really be about the pace. It's about the destination”—in other words, where reforms may now be taking the country--and the final results.
Kudbiyev agrees with the International Labor Organization, which sees current efforts in Tashkent’s fight against forced labor to be effective. It now estimates that just 7 percent of cotton pickers in 2018 were forced laborers, which would represent considerable progress. However, the Washington-based Cotton Campaign, an international coalition against forced labor, takes a more cautious view, stressing that hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks still find themselves required to work in the fields. The coalition thus argues for more systemic changes, acknowledging Tashkent’s progress but challenging it to strive for more by noting that the country has not yet achieved success in eradicating forced labor.
Kudbiyev urges that observers avoid a rush to judgement. "We want to move forward on so many fronts,” he told VOA. “And we know we can do it. We are already doing it. I actually think we are moving rather fast but have got to focus. After all, any change begs for many other changes elsewhere.”
Kudbiyev hopefully concludes, "Uzbekistan has never been this open to discussing critical issues with the international community and the media. We are facing our critics, listening and learning, as we tackle the most pressing problems at home. No country in the world can change things in a couple of years. But I assure you: we are not going back or retreating from our path."
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Uzbekistan's Labor Minister Sherzod Kudbiyev says his country has a historic opportunity to revitalize its system. Speaking exclusively to VOA’s Navbahor Imamova during a visit to Washington, Kudbiyev argues that Uzbekistan is making a break with its state-dominated system of the past.
“We have a historic opportunity to privatize and modernize our cotton sector, as well as other parts of our economy,” he says.
But acknowledging that many observers, including the Uzbek people, expect reforms to come at a rapid pace, Kudbiyev argues that ultimately, the success or failure of reforms won't "really be about the pace. It's about the destination”—in other words, where reforms may now be taking the country--and the final results.
Kudbiyev agrees with the International Labor Organization, which sees current efforts in Tashkent’s fight against forced labor to be effective. It now estimates that just 7 percent of cotton pickers in 2018 were forced laborers, which would represent considerable progress. However, the Washington-based Cotton Campaign, an international coalition against forced labor, takes a more cautious view, stressing that hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks still find themselves required to work in the fields. The coalition thus argues for more systemic changes, acknowledging Tashkent’s progress but challenging it to strive for more by noting that the country has not yet achieved success in eradicating forced labor.
Kudbiyev urges that observers avoid a rush to judgement. "We want to move forward on so many fronts,” he told VOA. “And we know we can do it. We are already doing it. I actually think we are moving rather fast but have got to focus. After all, any change begs for many other changes elsewhere.”
Kudbiyev hopefully concludes, "Uzbekistan has never been this open to discussing critical issues with the international community and the media. We are facing our critics, listening and learning, as we tackle the most pressing problems at home. No country in the world can change things in a couple of years. But I assure you: we are not going back or retreating from our path."
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