TEHRAN (Iran News) –To date, Uzbekistan has established diplomatic relations with 142 states of the world, is a member of over a hundred such authoritative organizations as the UN, OIC, OSCE, SCO, CIS, ECO, and others, as well as a participant in more than 200 international multilateral treaties. The country is active in shaping not only the regional but also the global agenda, building collective mechanisms to counter challenges and threats that directly affect the security, prosperity and sustainable development of the global community.

A clear evidence of this can be called the productive participation of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in events taking place at international venues. For example, the important initiatives put forward by the head of the republic during the meeting of the 75th UN General Assembly have become a solid contribution of the state to the development of mutually beneficial international cooperation.

Among them are proposals for the development of an International Code of Voluntary Commitments of States during Pandemics and the adoption of a UNGA resolution “On strengthening the role of parliaments in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. By decision of the President, the Global Forum “Human Rights Education” and the World Conference on Youth Rights “Engaging Youth in Global Actions” were held in 2022.

Another significant event in this regard was the election of the country for the first time in its history as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. At the same time, the republic began an active dialogue on joining the World Trade Organization in order to find its rightful place in the world trading system, corresponding to the resource and economic opportunities of Uzbekistan and human potential.

Since 2016, at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, four UN resolutions have been adopted to improve the foundations and mechanisms for international cooperation in the field of tourism, regional cooperation, interfaith understanding and sustainable development.

The Afghan Direction of International Politics

Since 2016, Uzbekistan has significantly stepped up its efforts to resolve the Afghan issue. The high-level Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan “Peace process, security cooperation and regional interaction” held in 2018 at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan was a landmark event. The Tashkent Declaration adopted as a result of the event for the first time enshrined a universal consensus on the need for a political settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, which gave a tangible impetus to the resumption of the peace process and the cessation of the armed conflict.

An important contribution to international efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan was the High-Level International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity” organized on July 15-16, 2021 in Uzbekistan. Challenges and Opportunities”, where the leader of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev pointed to the historical, cultural and civilizational commonality of the peoples living in these territories, called for joint efforts to turn this vast region and the entire Eurasian continent into a stable, economically developed and prosperous space.

As a result of the event last year, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution developed at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan on strengthening the interconnectedness of Central and South Asia.

In 2022, the head of Uzbekistan initiated an international conference “Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development”. Then, on one platform, special representatives for Afghanistan (more than 20 states directly involved in the Afghan settlement), heads and specialists of a dozen international and regional organizations formulated a coordinated approach to building a pragmatic dialogue with the new Afghan authorities.

In his speech at the VI summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the President of Uzbekistan suggested that Asian countries apply to the UN General Assembly with the initiative to form a high-level international negotiating group for negotiations with the Afghan authorities.

International initiatives to address the issues of the Aral Sea region

At the initiative of Uzbekistan, a special high-level meeting of the United Nations “Promoting regional and international cooperation towards comprehensive strategies in support of sustainable development” was held at the UN Headquarters in New York in November 2018. Based on its results, the Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region was created. And already on May 18, 2021, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a special resolution proposed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev “On declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies.”

Obviously, the processes taking place in the world, as well as the high dynamics of the transformation of Uzbekistan, have updated the revision of the concept of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. The priority tasks today are the consolidation and mobilization of all internal and external resources for the unconditional achievement of national development goals, the effective promotion of the interests of the people of the republic in the international arena and the progressive increase in the competitiveness of the country’s economy in the world market based on the principles of proactivity, pragmatism, constructivism, economization, openness, humanization activities.

In order to constitutionally consolidate the priorities of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, the new edition of the country’s Constitution confirms loyalty to the ideals of democracy, freedom and equality, social justice and solidarity. It is also indicated that foreign policy activities are carried out on the basis of generally recognized principles and norms of international law, the country seeks to strengthen and develop friendly relations with the world community, primarily with neighboring states, on the basis of cooperation, mutual support, peace and harmony.

In addition to correcting the priorities of foreign policy, the Constitution of the country in a new edition (Article 13) determines that democracy in the Republic of Uzbekistan is based on universal principles, according to which the highest value is a person, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights.

In accordance with Article 15, international treaties of the Republic of Uzbekistan, along with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, are an integral part of the legal system.

Article 17 determines that Uzbekistan is a full-fledged subject of international relations, and its foreign policy is based on the principles of sovereign equality of states, non-use of force or threat of force, inviolability of borders, territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states and other generally recognized principles and norms of international law.

Article 18 establishes: Uzbekistan pursues a peaceful foreign policy aimed at the comprehensive development of bilateral and multilateral relations with states and international organizations; the republic can enter into alliances, join commonwealths and other interstate formations, and also withdraw from them based on the highest interests of the state, the people, its welfare and security.