Alisher Halmurzaev

Muhammadjon Babadjanov

Senior researchers of Center for Economic Research and Reforms
under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan is blessed with rich natural resources including precious, rare and non-ferrous metals, various organic fuel such as oil, natural and condensed gas, different types of coal, shale oil, uranium and many more. The country firmly holds fourth position in stock of gold and seventh in gold mining, eighth in uranium reserve and eleventh in uranium mining.

There are more than 2025 mining fields around the country: construction materials – 867, groundwater – 649, hydrocarbons (oil, condensed and natural gas) – 244, precious metals – 97 (gold, silver), non-ferrous and rare metals – 12, radioactive metals – 38, raw materials mines – 37, chemicals – 32, gemstone – 30, coal and oil shale – 7, ferrous metals – 5.

Uzbekistan secures leading positions in the world in confirmed stocks of such minerals as gold, uranium, copper, natural gas, tungsten, potassium salts, phosphorite, and kaolin. Not only do the rich stocks of minerals provide the existing mining complexes with a long perspective, but they also allow for increasing facilities and re-organization of the extraction of the most important minerals such as gold, uranium, copper, lead, silver, lithium, phosphorites, potassium salts, agrochemical ores, and other. According to estimates of Boston Consulting Group, over the next ten years, the country’s investment potential will amount to $ 65 billion, of which more than 45 billion falls to the raw materials industries.

On April 2020 the country has developed after pandemic measures to mitigate the adverse effects of pandemic. The conceptual measures tangled different aspects of sector including investment, structural changes, regulatory framework, scientific and innovation potential as well as modernization programs. In particular, measures chase objectives such as increasing the reserves of gold, silver, copper and eight types of non-metallic minerals, the volume of mineral extraction by at least 1.5 times in the framework of ongoing investment projects.

Country is devoted to allocation of funds for the modernization of the industry and the digits are only growing over years. In 2017 – 2019 in consecutive three years 6.5, 23 and 18.2 million US dollars were allocated respectively in the framework of modernization program. In this period, a third of the technology and equipment in the industry has been renewed. In 2020, about 53 million US dollars are expected to be allocated to modernize drilling, mining, laboratory, geophysical, energy equipment, special equipment, auxiliary and other types of equipment.

The use of modern equipment allows not only to gain access to facilities previously inaccessible due to technical capabilities, but also to improve the pace and quality of well drilling at previous facilities by reducing time previously stent on repairing. Moreover, the use of modern equipment can reduce the time of work at all stages, reduce the negative impact on the environment and drill wells of complex design. It is estimated that by employing modern equipment will increase the drilling depth from 800 meters to 1200 and productivity by 1.7 times. By July over 100 units of special equipment are expected to be renewed with funds allocated from the State Budget.

Successful implementation of the program will increase exploration work by 35 percent. By this exploration of 16 perspective hydrocarbon sites and confirmation of the volume of reserves at 23 new fields are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Other geographic information technologies also will be implemented into the sector that allow processing spatial data, such as Global Mapper (software package for a geographic information system), Erdas imagine (software package for processing geospatial and hyperspectral images, as well as vector data) and ENVI (image analysis software used by professionals of geographic information systems, remote sensing scientists and image analysts).

Attractiveness of the industry for investment

Given the big potential of the sector, for the successful implementation of the investment attractiveness of the industry (namely, foreign investment), it is necessary to switch to international standards of reporting. Among the widely recognized international standards is the JORC Code, which sets standards, recommendations and principles for applying public reporting on mineral exploration results and ore reserves. The main principles of the code are transparency, materiality and competence.

Despite the fact that transparency and materiality are the guiding principles of the code, the key component of providing a high-quality report of an international level remains qualified personnel, that is, competent specialists. Hence, Uzbek government developed crisis management program to eliminate the pandemic crises in the sector where among first measures is to train local geologists in accordance with international JORC standards by attracting foreign specialists. The measure is aimed to ensure the preparation of the necessary reports in accordance with the expectations of potential foreign investors.

Further measures include reaching an agreement with the World Bank on attracting investors to the Kyzylturuk (gold) and Sangruntov (oil shale) mines, as well as with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to the Oktepa (silver) and Jetimtov (phosphorite) mines. It is planned to negotiate with international financial institutions on attracting investors to the remaining 16 fields until November 1, 2020. Attracting foreign investors will directly serve to transfer new technologies, to accelerate enriching stocks, and ultimately stimulate regional economic activity, increase employment and tax revenues.

Organizational improvement: State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources

As was mentioned earlier, conceptual measures tangled structural changes. A number of regulatory acts have been adopted to strengthen the functional potential and expand the activities of the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources. This is especially important given the need for rational and efficient use of the country’s natural resources. In particular, the President’s Decree “On measures to radically improve the activities of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on geology and mineral resources” assigned the following main tasks and directions to the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources:

– to carry unified state policy in the field of geological study, use and protection of mineral resources;

– to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of exploration;

– to maintain an active investment policy in the field of geological exploration and industrial development of mineral deposits and creating a favorable investment climate;

– to monitor the implementation of state programs for the development and reproduction of the mineral resource base;

– to implement of state supervision in the field of use and protection of mineral resources during their geological study, mining, processing of mineral raw materials;

– to implement effective measures of modernizing the geological industry by employing modern high-performance exploration equipment, providing advanced and innovative technologies;

– to implement systemic measures of training qualified personnel for the geological industry.

Additionally another Presidential decree has been adopted “On measures to improve the organization and conduct of geological exploration for oil and gas” according to which the function of conducting research and regional geological surveys, geophysical and drilling activities as well as development and reproduction of hydrocarbon reserves of the republic were transferred to the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources.

Regulatory framework.

Regarding the regulatory framework of the after-pandemic development program revised version of the Law “On mineral wealth” is to be adopted. The current law was adopted in 2002 and government believes it should be revised based on industry development trends and best foreign practices in the field.

Working group at the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources is to develop a new version of the law based on study of the legislation of Turkey, Chile, China, Canada, Germany, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Australia.

One of the recommendations for the upcoming revision of the current law is that the rules and requirements in the new draft law will be direct in nature and will regulate the rights of foreign investors in more detail.

At the same time, it is expected that the principles of competition for the transfer of subsoil use rights directly in the norms of the draft law will be reflected. At the same time, the rights of mineral users will be strengthened, and the conditions for government and local authorities to intervene in the activities of subsoil users will be determined in detail.

Groundwater resources

The study of groundwater is among the most important areas in geological science. It aims to solve land reclamation problems and to create an optimal water regime on agricultural lands, as well as for hydrogeological substantiation of construction works.

Accordingly, monitoring and maintenance of the groundwater cadaster of the country has been greatly improved. As part of the program State committee on geology and mineral resources plans to accelerate the completion of drilling 70 wells. This will secure enough water supply for irrigation for 3000 ha of land. It is worth to note that recently 250 observation wells were equipped with automatic remote measurement devices.

Organizational structuring has also been tackled in the program. To ensure efficient management of groundwater resources in the country State Unitary Enterprise “Uzbekhydrogeology” as a separate authorized body is now assigned to carry unified policy in this area.

Moreover, by the end of the year the country will introduce a system for online monitoring of water consumption in 200 new wells (also at 400 groundwater level wells). The extension of this measure will include development of interactive groundwater maps.

Potential for scientific and innovation

In recent years, Earth Remote Sensing (ERS) has become an indispensable tool for the study and management of mineral resources. The observation is carried out by aircraft and spacecraft equipped with special multichannel tools that record electromagnetic radiation in different ranges. There are different methods for studying the earth using remote sensing technology – a surface survey using satellite imagery, as well as processing Airborne geophysical surveys data that reflect the properties of the rock at depth.

In order to increase the efficiency of exploration and extraction of natural resources, measures have been developed to organize a geological research using satellite imagery by the airborne geophysical method by the end of the year. Both methods are relevant depending on the scope. In particular, airborne geophysical methods and technologies are used at all stages of geological exploration, starting with the early stages of the search and ending with the transportation of extracted minerals.

Important features of airborne geophysical technologies are high productivity (up to 30,000 linear kilometers per month with one aircraft) and the absence of anthropogenic load on the studied territories. As a rule of thumb, the use of traditional methods (seismic exploration and drilling) has difficulties associated with logistics, which leads to a significant increase in the cost of project. Application of airborne geophysics methods in these conditions allows obtaining huge data about the geological structure of the study area in a short time by optimizing the planning and implementation of heavy geological and geophysical work due to the reasonable positioning of prospecting wells.

Given the relevance of the application of these methods, in 2019 the first modern airborne geophysical complex in Central Asia was launched in Uzbekistan by which innovative methods for the study of mineral resources were introduced. At the initial stage of geological work, widely used programs in the world based on modern geographic information technologies are actively employed. High-resolution satellite images from satellites are also actively used, which make it possible to conduct research on vast areas and with great accuracy to obtain information about the layers of deep occurrence of minerals.

Also, in order to support research activities in the field of geology, as part of comprehensive measures, the Ministry of Innovative Development has announced call for application for applied and innovative projects. The purpose of the competition is the generating high-tech products and innovative technologies aimed at solving urgent problems, real needs and regional problems of geology development.

In addition, to further improve the system of training qualified personnel for the geological industry,

On May 13 of this year, the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to organize the activities of the University of Geological Sciences in the system of the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources” was adopted.

According to the resolution, the University of Geological Sciences was established, specializing in the integration of education, research and practice in the field of geology.

The University is a specialized higher education and research institute of the republic for the training of qualified personnel in the field of geology and the implementation of research work for the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources, mining companies and other sectors of the economy.

The university is expected to consolidate the potential of advanced theoretical knowledge of geological science and enterprises in the field of mining metallurgy, to implement projects such as the Digital Geology and the National Electronic Base of Rocks and Minerals, as well as to train students on remote sensing methods of the Earth based on high-resolution space photographs.

Students are trained on the basis of state educational standards of Uzbekistan in accordance with the programs of leading foreign universities in the field of geology and mining.

The adoption of this decision will serve to implement the results of research in geology, the widespread use of modern teaching methods, radically improve the system of training highly qualified personnel in geology, as well as strengthen the material and technical base of education on the basis of advanced foreign technologies.

Alisher Halmurzaev

Muhammadjon Babadjanov

Senior researchers of Center for Economic Research and Reforms
under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

DNA

Muzaffarabad; 27 June 2020: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has said that after grudgingly accepting the independence of Pakistan, India adopted a secular doctrine. This concept, he said, was an insincere attempt as this was nothing but Hinduism mascaraed as secularism.

The President made these remarks while addressing two separate web-conferences organized by the Institute of Policy Studies on the topic of “India: Past, Present & Future: Perceptions of the Muslim World”; and by the Pakistan High Commission UK on the topic “Seeking Justice for Kashmiri Victims of Sexual Violence and Physical Torture, and Widows”

Speaking at the IPS Session – which was attended by leading international experts from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nigeria – the President said Hindu fascists romanticize an imaginary state of Akhand Baharat that they claim to have existed before the arrival of Muslim rulers in the Sub-continent. This notion, he said, is not only unsubstantiated by history, it is also counterintuitive.

Referring to the faux secularism adopted by India, the AJK President said that over the decades, this glue of secularism had has come off and the real face of the India’s political masters has been exposed. Not long after Independence, on 27 October 1947 India began working on its imperialistic agenda, and invaded the Jammu and Kashmir State. Driven by its Hindu-extremist policy, India has carried on with this agenda over the years, he said.

Masood Khan said that lawmakers and the leadership of BJP, the RSS and their affiliates have publically declared that they would do away with Muslims from within India. This, he said, has caught the attention of Hindu zealots from across India which has consequently impacted the larger political landscape of India.

This BJP-RSS nexus has waged three wars in the region; one against its minorities inside its own borders, the second one against Kashmiris in the occupied territory of Kashmir and the third one against all its neighbouring countries. Considering Pakistan as enemy number one, they have threatened to wipe off Pakistan from the face of the earth by the use of nuclear weapons, he informed.

President Masood Khan said that India’s ambition of becoming a colonial and imperial power in the region has led it to using the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh for sabotaging the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It has also formed a four member alliance QUAD – comprising of India, USA, Japan and Australia – to oppose the BRI and, especially, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“India is the biggest barrier for progress in the region. SAARC has been struggling for decades and that too because India has been standing in the way of economic integration as it wants to establish its hegemony in South Asia”, said the President.

Speaking about the situation in IOJK, he said that India is practising the policy of lebensraum by reoccupying the State of Jammu and Kashmir, bifurcating it and now bringing it under the direct rule of Delhi. He compared the New Domicile Rules introduced in IOJK, to the policy followed by Nazi Germany against the Jews, based initially on economic strangulation, followed by demonization and marginalization and finally physical extermination.

The President apprised that in IOJK political leaders have been incarcerated, the youth are being killed and tortured in jails all over IOJK and northern India. He added that 13,000 Kashmiri boys have been abducted and kept in prison houses where they are being subjected to torture and brainwashing. Bipin Rawat, India’s Chief of Defence Staff has said that these boys (some as young as 10 years old) are more dangerous than a pellet-firing shotgun because they raise the slogan of Azadi (freedom) and self-determination, he said.

The AJK President said that members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should start a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against India, while the corporate sector of these countries should be discouraged to invest in India as they are committing human rights violations against Kashmiris and Muslims of India. Start by banning the import of non-halal meat and non-halal into OIC countries and the formation of a Kashmir Humanitarian Fund with the help of the Islamic Development Bank and Islamic Solidarity Fund. He also suggested an international civil society movement be mobilized to delegitimize Hindutva and campaign to declare RSS a terrorist organization. “The biggest and the most trained terrorist organization in the world is the RSS. They have openly declared to target Muslims not only in South Asia but all over the world”, he said.

Appreciating the supportive role of the OIC, President Masood Khan appealed to the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council to raise their voice against Kashmir and call out the egregious human rights violations taking place in IOJK.

Speaking at the web-conference hosted by Pakistan High Commission, the President appealed to powerful nations to make moral and legal choices for bringing India to justice and helping dismantle this machine of torture in IOJK. “Silence is a crime when such torture is openly taking place in any part of the world”, he said.

He added that 25,000 Hindus from all over India have been given domiciles of IOJK; and in the same manner, in which Muslim Indians have become second class citizens, Kashmiris have to run from pillar to post just to prove that they are State subjects. “If we don’t stop this now IOJK won’t be a recognisable entity like it is today. 2 million Hindus will be brought in over the coming years” he said.

The AJK President said that India’s non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council will lead to three setbacks in the COuncil. Firstly, it will try to delete the agenda from the UN SC calendar; secondly, they would make efforts to stop us from holding informal meetings on Kashmir; and thirdly, they will imperil funding of the mandate of the UNMOGIP. “As a permanent member of the UN SC, UK can stop this and create a balance in the UNSC”, said the President while speaking to his audience.

He urged the British citizenry and its civil society to lead the campaign of letter writing and awareness-raising on Kashmir in the international realm.

He also thanked MP Steve Baker for his active and vocal role in raising his voice for the Kashmir people by authoring a letter. He urged him to use his clout with 10 Downing Street and the FCO to mobilise the UK towards Kashmir advocacy in both the British Parliament and the UN SC

The web-conference hosted by the Pakistan High Commission London was attended by Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK H.E. Nafees Zakaria, MP AFzazl Khan, MP Naz Shah, MP Steve Baker, MP Tony Lloyd, MP, Imran Hussain, MP Khalid Mahmood, Lord Qurban Hussain, Councillor Aasim Rashid, Mr. Muzammil  Ayub Thakur, Chairman JKSDMI Raja Najabat Hussain, President Tahreek-e-Kashmir UK Mr Fahim Kiyani, Dr. Nazir GIllani, Syed Ali Raza, Ms. Shaista Safi and other leading members of the civil society.

DNA

Islamabad, 27 June: Bangladeshi American researcher, author and former Mukti Bahini guerilla leader Mohammad Zainal Abedin has alleged that the Indian intelligence agency RAW is actively involved in destabilizing the neighbouring South Asian states in order to gain control over them and the region.

This was stated at an international webinar organized by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), an Islamabad based think tank, in which leading international experts from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nigeria spoke on the topic of ‘India: Past, Present & Future: Perceptions of the Muslim World’.

This was the second IPS international webinar, as part of a global online symposia series, which was held during the week. A total of fifteen leading international India experts spoke at the two webinars. IPS’ Executive President Khalid Rahman chaired the session while Senior Research Fellow Syed Muhammad Ali moderated it.

Zainal Abedin, who was trained in India to fight against Pakistan in 1971, cautioned all South Asian countries against trusting India and urged them to form a united alliance to prevent New Delhi from exploiting, subjugating or oppressing them. He said that trusting India was a grave mistake by the Bengali Muslims, because this converted East Pakistan into Bangladesh, which later became an Indian proxy state. He reminded that India has systematically occupied several formerly princely states including Jammu & Kashmir, Hyderabad, Sikkim, Junagadh & Manavadar and others since 1947.

An author of several books on Indian involvement in Bangladesh, Zainal Abedin stated that Hindu extremist ideology led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of Muslim in 1947, looting of Bangladesh by Hindu extremists after 1971, subsequently led BJP to destroy Babri mosque and in 2002 allowed Narendra Modi to once again slaughter thousands of Muslims in the Gujarat massacre.

President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan, while delivering the keynote address, stated that without ideological muscle the Muslims would collapse. He warned the Muslims around the world that their history is being distorted through books, think tanks, movies and social media.

He urged the OIC member States to boycott Indian goods and impose economic sanctions against India. He stated that it is a great tragedy that the United Nations is observing a day against torture while nowhere there is greater use of torture as a state policy as by India in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. He described India as an artificial state that has never existed as one state with the current territory and was unified only by the Muslims first and later by the British.

He said that India is currently waging three wars; one against its minorities inside its own borders, the second one against Kashmiris in the occupied territory of Kashmir and the third one against all its neighbors. He compared Indian policy towards Kashmiri Muslims with the one followed by Nazi Germany against the Jews, based initially on economic strangulation, followed by demonization and marginalization and eventually physical extermination.

Khan described India as a foreign colonial power, which has occupied and colonized Kashmir and is now vying to colonize littoral States of the Indian Ocean region. He said that India considered Pakistan as its enemy number one but it has not spared any neighbor in its ambitious quest for expansionism. President AJK termed India as the biggest barrier in the progress of SAARC and regional economic integration.

American Muslim scholar Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid said that RSS is just like ISIS and the reality of Hindu extremists cannot be hidden behind peaceful symbols like Gandhi, Taj Mahal and vegetarianism anymore.

He stated that India is not immune from pressures but the onus is on the Indian Muslims to raise their voices and rise up and they will receive help from the Muslims around the world.  He urged the Muslims in the West particularly the US, UK, France, Germany to organize themselves and support their brothers suffering inside India.

Senior Saudi journalist and South Asia analyst Khaled Almaeena called upon the Muslims to unite, seek knowledge and globally promote their story with logic and clarity, in order to be taken seriously by major powers.

Nigerian Scholar Dr Bakare Najimdeen warned against the international Islamophobia project to systematically dehumanize and victimize Islam and the Muslims.

Professor Haroon Khatibi, a senior official of Kabul-based think tank Centre for Strategic and Regional Studies (CSRS), was of the view that the current rise of Far-Right extremism globally has hit the US and India the most. The exclusionist RSS and its offshoots including BJP in India want every Indian to become a Hindu, he added.

Executive President IPS Khalid Rahman termed RSS as the world’s largest terrorist organization, which is internationally exploiting Indian economic clout and secular and democratic outlook to promote its expansionist agenda. He urged the Muslims around the world to develop positive thinking, innovative strategies and patience to organize themselves and meet their growing and complex challenges.

ISLAMABAD, JUN 26 (DNA) – With the COVID-19 pandemic upending the lives of millions of children around the world, UNICEF is delivering life-saving supplies despite unprecedented transport and logistical constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“From supply shortages to transport constraints, COVID-19 has brought enormous challenges to our supply operations,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “However, with support from our partners, we were able to meet some of the most pressing needs and keep children and communities safe.”

According to a press statement issued by the UN Information Center here Friday, so far this year, UNICEF has shipped key personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to over 100 countries to support their response to the pandemic, including 7.5 million surgical masks, 2.8 million N95 respirators, nearly 10 million gloves, over 830,000 gowns, and nearly 600,000 face shields. UNICEF also shipped over 550,000 diagnostic tests, with an additional 912,000 planned to be delivered through August and is sending over 16,000 oxygen concentrators to 90 low- and middle-income countries.

Limited availability of commercial flights has also taken a heavy toll on shipments of supplies for regular programmes. From March – May in a typical year, UNICEF would have made more than 700 vaccine shipments to countries. During the same period in 2020, just over half that amount – 391 shipments – took place.

To address vaccine shipment challenges, UNICEF is appealing to governments, the private sector, the airline industry and others, to provide solutions for freight space at an affordable cost for life-saving vaccines. For example, a recent charter pooled what would have been separate vaccine shipments into one, making eight stops in West African countries that would otherwise be hard to reach.

UNICEF’s COVID-19 response builds on a strong year for its supply operations in 2019, when UNICEF’s procurement of supplies and services reached a record level of US$3.826 billion, representing a nearly 10 per cent increase from 2018 levels. Over one-third of the total procurement was for vaccines at US$1.656 billion, accounting for 2.43 billion doses for nearly 100 countries to reach 45 per cent of the world’s children under five years of age.

UNICEF also exceeded its savings target for 2019 by over 35 per cent, achieving US$363.3 million in savings across a range of products by leveraging strategic procurement approaches.

“Our collaboration with national governments, partners and the private sector is vital to our efforts to reach children with the supplies they need,” said Etleva Kadilli, Director of the UNICEF supply and procurement headquarters. “Through our global reach and innovative approaches, we leverage our purchasing power and achieve significant savings for governments and donors. As we work together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach becomes even more important to maximize each dollar spent so that regular programmes can be maintained, as countries also scale up COVID-19 response efforts.”

The 2019 Supply Annual Report released today highlights a variety of examples of how UNICEF scaled up its supply and logistics operations to meet the evolving needs of children and families around the world. These range from championing efforts to bring new products to market, to harnessing technology to streamline supply operations, and using special financing tools to support governments to deliver supplies.

Examples include: Scaling-up vaccine procurement in an evolving landscape of supply and demand, and the cold chain equipment infrastructure required to keep vaccines safe;  Pre-financing tools to support countries utilizing domestic resources to deliver supplies to children on time; A mobile phone app that uses real-time data to facilitate a faster delivery and improved management of supplies for UNICEF staff; The recycling of steel from end-of-life ships to build longer-lasting, quality learning centres for refugee children in Bangladesh; and High Performance Tents used for humanitarian responses to support essential services in education, health, nutrition and child protection

The report also highlights how UNICEF scaled up health emergency preparedness following the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa to strengthen its supply response in health emergencies. This experience helped shape the organization’s response to the COVID-19 emergency. = DNA