Presidency of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

The Presidency of Shavkat Mirziyoyev refers to the tenure of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as the 2nd President of Uzbekistan since the country's independence in 1991. His term began on 14 December 2016, after serving as acting president following the death of his predecessor, Islam Karimov. In accordance with the Constitution of Uzbekistan, his mandate will last until 2021.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Mirziyoyev's background and 2016 election
See also: 2016 Uzbek presidential election

Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (Uzbek Cyrillic: Шавкат Миромонович Мирзиёев) was born in the Jizzakh Region of the Uzbek SSR on 24 July 1957 as one of 5 children that his father Miromon had with his wife. From 1977–1981, Mirziyoyev studied at the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration with a Ph.D in Technological Sciences. He began his political career in 1996 when he was appointed as Hakim of the Jizzakh Region. He later became the Hakim of Samarqand Region in September 2001 and would keep this position until 2003. He was appointed by President Karimov as Prime Minister, to form a new cabinet to replace Oʻtkir Sultonov. He served in this position for 13 years until he took the post of acting president after the death of President Karimov in September 2016. Presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 4 December 2016 with Mirziyoyev winning 88.6% of the popular vote.[1]

He was sworn in as President of Uzbekistan on 14 December 2016 during a ceremony in the Supreme Assembly, which coincided with its regular session. The ceremony was officiated by the Chairman Mirzo-Ulugbek Abdusalomov of the Uzbek Central Election Commission.[2] Miziyoyev placed his hand on the country’s Constitution and Quran as he took the oath of office.[3]

Domestic policy
Mirziyoyev with members of the Uzbek diaspora in the United States.

Appointments and removals

Mirziyoyev worked hard to remove any controversial trace of the Karimov administration in his presidency. This also worked strategically, as some of Mirziyoyev's political adversaries such as Rustam Azimov and Rustam Inoyatov were opposed to many of his planned reforms. This period in his presidency was used to consolidate his power and remove all power struggles in the country.[4] He appointed Abdusalom Azizov to head the defense ministry in September 2017, to succeed the long-time defense minister Qobul Berdiyev, who was seen as a Karimov loyalist. Azizov himself would be sacked from this position in February 2019, being transferred to the National Security Service to lead it after its head, Lieutenant General Ikhtiyor Abdullayev, was accused of tapping President Mirziyoyev's phone.[5]

Economy

There are many visible results of Mirziyoyev's reforms, which included the creation of more than 300,000 jobs and an increase in exports. Mirziyoyev secured 10 billion dollars in areas such as infrastructure, alternative energy and agriculture following talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in March 2019.[6][7]

Foreign policy
Mirziyoyev with Vladimir Putin.
Main article: List of international presidential trips made by Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Unlike Karimov, Mirziyoyev has moved to a more open foreign policy with Uzbekistan's neighbors, especially with the gradual improvement of relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.[8] Mirziyoyev has made it routine to visit foreign countries on state visits, with his first official foreign visit being to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in March 2017. Mirziyoyev plans to visit 36 countries throughout 2019, some of which have never seen an official visit by an Uzbek president.

Over the course of his presidency, many foreign leaders visited Tashkent on state visits, including Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.[9]

Relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

On 5 September 2017, Mirziyoyev conducted a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, the first visit of its kind since 2000.[10] A similar historic first visit was made in March 2018 to Dushanbe, Tajikistan.[11] These were part of a bigger effort to improve relations with these two countries, which were riddled with tension primarily due to border disputes with those countries. In January 2017, regular commercial flights between Tashkent and Dushanbe resumed for the first time in 25 years.[12]

Role in Afghanistan
From left to right: Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, President Mirziyoyev, Ram Nath Kovind, Savita Kovind and Narendra Modi.

Mirziyoyev has made sure that Uzbekistan plays an important role in the peace talks between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. In June of that year, the Uzbek foreign ministry, established diplomatic contacts with the terrorist organization.[13] In August 2018, Mirziyoyev requested successfully that a Taliban delegation visit Tashkent to discuss Uzbekistan's role in the guaranteeing of peace in Afghanistan.[14] In an address to his counterparts at a Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Dushanbe, Mirziyoyev extensively spoke of the instability in Afghanistan and the need to stop equipped and financed terrorist cells from leaving Syria and Iraq to go fight in Central Asia.[15] In April 2019, he met with Zalmay Khalilzad, United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation to discussed various avenues to take in order to stabilize the reconstruction of the Afghan economy.[16]

Cabinet
Main article: Politics of Uzbekistan

The current Prime Minister is Abdulla Aripov, who has designated the following members of the cabinet of ministers:

Minister titleName
Minister of Economy and IndustryBotir Xoʻjayev
Minister of FinanceAnvar Qoʻchqorov
Minister of Transport Achilbay Ramat
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population Sherzod Qudbiyev
Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education Inom Madzhidov
Ministry of Public Education Sherzod Shermatov
Minister of Pre-school Education Agrepina Shin
Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments, and Trade Sardor Umurzakov
Ministry of Internal Affairs Pulat Bobojonov
Minister of Energy Alisher Sultanov
Minister of Water Management Shavkat Khamrayev
Minister of Housing and Communal Services Muzaffar Saliev
Ministry of Public Health Alisher Shadmanov
Ministry of Innovative Development Ibrohim Abdurahmonov
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov
Minister of Culture and Sports Bakhtior Saifullaev
Minister of DefenseBakhodir Kurbanov
Minister of Information Technology and Communications Azim Ahmedkhadzhayev
Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources Zoir Mirzayev
Minister of Construction Abdukahhar Tuhtaev
Minister of Physical Education and Sport Shoacram Isroilov
Ministry of Emergency Situations Tursinhan Xudayberganov
Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov

Residence
Modern state arrival ceremonies for foreign leaders are held in Kuksaroy.

Prior to 2016, the Ok Saroy Presidential Palace served as the official residence and workplace of the Uzbek President. In 2016, the title official residence was moved to the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace by order of President Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev has also used another residence located in the Qibray District of Tashkent which contains a presidential highway and compound. The interior is rumored to contain blue marble slabs from Argentina and Swarovski crystals.[17][18]

Recognition
  • November 2017 – He given the title of Honored Citizen of Seoul[19]
  • December 2018 – He was named the "Asian of the Year of 2018" by the Asia Journalist Association (AJA).[22]
  • March 2018 – He was awarded the StrategEast Westernization Award[23]

References
  1. Uzbekistan to hold presidential election on December 4
  2. http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/281-today-shavkat-mirziyoyev-will-take-oath-of-office
  3. http://tass.com/world/919180/amp
  4. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uzbekistan-inoyatov/uzbek-leader-sacks-powerful-security-boss-idUSKBN1FK0TY
  5. https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-head-of-security-services-gets-chop-amid-talk-of-surveillance
  6. http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/Mirziyoyev-comes-away-from-UAE-visit-with-multibillion-dollar-promises.html
  7. "Over 336,000 new jobs created in Uzbekistan in 2017 - President". UzDaily.com.
  8. "Uzbekistan: Are Things any Better under Shavkat Mirziyoyev?". International Policy Digest. 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  9. "找不到页面". en.minskdaily.com.
  10. UzDaily.uz. "Президент Узбекистана 5-6 сентября посетит Кыргызстан". UzDaily.uz (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  11. "Mirziyoyev's first ever visit to Dushanbe - AKIpress News Agency". m.akipress.com. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  12. "Uzbekistan: Mirziyoyev Flirting With Regional Reset?". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  13. https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/what-is-uzbekistans-role-in-the-afghan-peace-process/
  14. "Afghan Taliban delegation visits Uzbekistan to talk security, power lines" – via mobile.reuters.com.
  15. http://uza.uz/oz/documents/zbekiston-respublikasi-prezidgrenti-shavkat-mirziyeevning-dush-29-09-2018?m=y&ELEMENT_CODE=zbekiston-respublikasi-prezidgrenti-shavkat-mirziyeevning-dush-29-09-2018&SECTION_CODE=documents
  16. http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/3773-mirziyoyev-hosts-u-s-special-representative-for-afghanistan-reconciliation
  17. https://www.rferl.org/amp/uzbeks-angry-homes-demolished-mirziyoev-presidential-palace-highway/29568605.html
  18. https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-mirziyoev-new-residence-tashkent/28672011.html
  19. "Shavkat Mirziyoyev was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Seoul". president.uz. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  20. "Shavkat Mirziyoyev gets prize "For Merits to Eurasia"". Trend.Az. April 24, 2018.
  21. "Shavkat Mirziyoyev's nomination for Nobel Prize offered | Vestnik Kavkaza". vestnikkavkaza.net.
  22. Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (December 27, 2018). "Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev named Asian of the Year" – via The Economic Times.
  23. https://strategeast.org/president-of-uzbekistan-shavkat-mirziyoyev-was-awarded-the-strategeast-westernization-award-2018-for-economic-and-social-reforms/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.