Deliberations on Economic Advancement and Employment Initiatives in Karakalpakstan

Tashkent, The Gulf Observer: Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting at which the ongoing work was analyzed, and further tasks for the socio-economic development of the Republic of Karakalpakstan were identified.

Special attention is paid to the development of Karakalpakstan’s economy and improving the quality of life of its population. Over the past seven years, the region has undergone unprecedented changes. The republic, 12 out of 15 districts of which were subsidized, began to provide revenues to its budget. In particular, more than 5.3 thousand projects were implemented through investments worth 15 trillion soums. Forest plantations covering an area of 1.8 million hectares have been created on the dry bottom of the Aral Sea. The living conditions of 51 thousand families were improved. Construction and repair work was completed in 401 mahallas. The standard of living of the population has increased.

Karakalpakstan provides benefits and opportunities for doing business unavailable in any other region. In particular, to create an attractive business environment and favorable conditions for residents of the region, taxes on profit, turnover, land, and property were reduced by 2 times, and the social tax rate was set at 1 percent. As a result, entrepreneurs have 500 billion soums per year at their disposal.

To raise this work to a new level, over the past two years, 7 decrees and resolutions have been adopted to develop industry, agriculture, and entrepreneurship and improve the infrastructure of mahallas in Karakalpakstan. $400 million and 250 billion soums have been allocated for these purposes.

The implementation of many projects continues in collaboration with economic sectors and regions in the cities and districts of the Aral Sea region.

The work carried out in 2023 was reviewed, and tasks for 2024 were discussed at the meeting.

Today, the population of Karakalpakstan exceeds 2 million people. Every year, 50 thousand citizens enter the labor market. The Head of state drew attention to the need to train them in modern professions and provide them with work and decent conditions.

To this end, large-scale work is planned for this year. In particular, it is planned to increase the volume of industrial production to 23 trillion soums and create a production capacity of 2 trillion soums. 24 large projects worth 5 trillion soums will be launched in the textile industry, electrical engineering, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials sector.

In 2024, it is planned to attract 2 billion 100 million dollars of foreign investment to the region. Due to this, 206 projects will be implemented in industry, 240 in the service sector, 34 in agriculture, and about 13 thousand highly profitable jobs will be created.

Karakalpakstan has positive dynamics in the development of production, agriculture, tourism, and other services. It was noted that it is necessary to effectively take advantage of this opportunity and increase exports to US$160 million.

A foreign grant will be attracted to increase agricultural productivity. Water-saving technologies will be introduced on 6 thousand hectares of land, and 31 thousand hectares will be leveled with lasers.

Measures are planned to repair the infrastructure of mahallas and houses of the population. 2.3 billion soums will be allocated to treat people needing high-tech medical services.

In addition, 182 billion soums will be allocated to projects based on citizen initiatives and 40 billion soums from the local budget this year. 10 trillion soums will be allocated for projects under programs to support small and medium-sized businesses.

The President emphasized that plans to create new jobs in the region do not correspond to the existing potential and pointed to additional opportunities.

For example, there are 149 hectares of vacant land in 51 industrial zones. On its basis, it is possible to launch 71 projects worth 775 billion soums and create 1 thousand jobs. Or you can put 10 thousand hectares of vacant land up for auction and attract 20 thousand entrepreneurs. This means 50 thousand jobs. Developing 85 non-ore deposits and employing 10 thousand people through projects worth 7.5 trillion soums is also possible.

The Head of state noted that tourism is one of the significant reserves in this regard. The task was set to develop a program for the development of tourism in Karakalpakstan, primarily environmental, ethnographic, and pilgrimage destinations, organize a tourism cluster, and attract foreign experts to the industry. The need to develop the Nukus Airport, increase air traffic, build new hotels, modernize museums, and expand roadside services was noted.

The importance of attracting specialists from Germany, South Korea, Japan, and Türkiye to train young people in 17 types of in-demand skills, such as foreign languages, information technology, design, and hotel services, was noted.

The responsible persons noted that there is every opportunity to transform Karakalpakstan into a region free of unemployment, and reported on the measures that will be taken in this direction.