Speech by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Solemn Ceremony Dedicated to the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of the State Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Dear compatriots!

Esteemed guests!

Today, with great pride and solemnity, we are celebrating the auspicious thirty-fifth anniversary of the independence of our sacred Motherland.

I sincerely congratulate our dear people, including our respected elders, our courageous youth, our esteemed women, the representatives of all nationalities and ethnic groups living in our country, and our compatriots abroad, on this holiday from the bottom of my heart.

The fact that our greatest holiday is being celebrated in New Tashkent further enhances the splendor of the occasion.

Only yesterday, in this area, which will in the future become a center of science, education and culture, we launched the magnificent buildings of the New Uzbekistan University, the Nizomiy Ganjaviy National Pedagogical University of Uzbekistan, and the National Library of Uzbekistan.

The fact that the fountain opening today in your presence has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's tallest musical fountain lends an even more elevated spirit to the festive mood.

In this unique place, where dreams of several hundred years are coming true, together with our entire people we will yet witness many more joyful and historic events.

I am confident that New Tashkent, adding beauty to the beauty of our capital, will become a true center of development that demonstrates the strength and power of the New Uzbekistan we are building!

Dear friends!

In 1991, through the will and determination of our people, we gained our state independence. In fact, the roots of our great independence go back to our statehood traditions and the history of our ancient civilization, which span more than three thousand years.

During the First and Second Renaissance, our great scholars such as Muhammad Khorazmiy, Ahmad Farg'oniy, Abu Rayhon Beruniy, Abu Ali ibn Sino, Mirzo Ulug'bek and Mir Alisher Navoiy enriched the treasury of human thought.

The state founded by our ancestor, Sahibqiran Amir Temur, has taken its rightful place in the pages of history as a symbol of justice and creativity.

The dreams and aspirations for freedom of our Jadid forebears such as Behbudiy, Munavvarqori, Fitrat, Qodiriy and Cho'lpon, who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the Motherland and national independence, are today being fully realized in New Uzbekistan.

Independence, above all, gave back to us our honor and dignity, our sacred religion, our mother tongue, and our national values that were being forgotten.

Thanks to independence, we came to know ourselves and showed the whole world that we are worthy heirs of our forefathers, whose names are always held in esteem.

In these moving moments, we bow in reverence to the memory of our great ancestors and the Jadids who gave their lives for today's free life.

On this historic date, we consider it fitting to acknowledge once again the selfless labor and courage of all our late compatriots who made a worthy contribution to strengthening our independence over the past 35 years.

We fondly remember with respect the bright memory of our First President, the distinguished statesman and political figure Islom Abdug'aniyevich Karimov.

Respected participants of the celebration!

The great significance of independence is manifested, first of all, in human dignity and a free life. That is why, from the very first days of the reforms, we listened to the heart of the people and set ourselves the goal of easing the people's hardships. We placed the idea "For the sake of human dignity!" at the center of state policy. First of all, we put an end to problems that had tormented people for years, such as "cotton slavery," "forced labor and child labor," "currency conversion restrictions," and the "propiska" (residence registration) system.

Most importantly, trust and peace of mind replaced the fear and apprehension in the hearts of our citizens. Over the past ten years, we have searched tirelessly and worked hard to build a society in which every person lives freely and prosperously.

Showing strong political will, we opened Uzbekistan widely to the world. In particular, border issues were resolved, and friendship and cooperation with our neighbors were strengthened. Fundamental changes were made in currency, tax, customs and investment policy. As a result, we improved our position in the "Index of Economic Freedom" by 80 places and joined the ranks of "moderately free economy" countries.

Whereas previously 2–3 billion dollars of foreign investment per year came into our economy, at present 40–50 billion dollars of foreign capital is being attracted. Together with investments, advanced technologies, modern knowledge and new economic opportunities are coming into our country.

Three years ago, we planned to bring the volume of gross domestic product to 160 billion dollars in 2030. Despite disruptions in global logistics and the unstable situation in the world, we will accomplish this task, and more, this very year, and join the ranks of upper-middle-income countries.

Notably, we are achieving such high results thanks to the selfless labor and intellectual potential of our people and the unity of the nation and the state. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that every person and every family deeply feels the positive changes in their own life.

Can the joy of more than 650,000 families who obtained modern housing in the new era be described in words?

The face of New Uzbekistan is reaching thousands of our mahallas.

By openly acknowledging the issue of poverty, we created the New Uzbekistan experience in sharply reducing it. We established a "mahalla-by-mahalla" work system to improve the income, occupation, health, children's education and living conditions of needy families.

Thanks to our consistent efforts, we have today reduced the poverty rate from 35 percent in 2017 to 4 percent. Behind these figures lies the joy and gratitude of 10 million people whose households have gained abundance and whose quality of life has improved.

Respected compatriots!

To take a worthy place in the world community, we need a new generation of specialists who are knowledgeable, have mastered the professions of the future, and have independent thinking. That is why we are bringing quality and substance to education. We are restoring the prestige of teachers and increasing their incomes.

Over the past ten years, even as our population grew by 8 million, we raised kindergarten coverage to 78 percent. 1.5 million additional student places were created in schools. The establishment of Presidential, creative and specialized schools has opened the door to broad opportunities for our children to acquire deep knowledge at a level no less than that of leading foreign educational institutions.

We have created decent conditions for young people to learn foreign languages and vocational skills.

By expanding favorable conditions for study at higher education institutions, the number of students has now reached 1 million 600 thousand. Gratifyingly, young people's eagerness to acquire knowledge has grown. For parents, giving their child a higher education is no longer just a dream but an achievable goal.

In particular, it would be right to say that the fact that more than half of the students are women and girls is a distinctive feature of the Third Renaissance. Because educated girls mean an educated family, an educated generation and an enlightened society.

Along with education, we regard science, modern technology and innovation as decisive factors of our development.

At the same time, we have launched a very large effort, giving new impetus to the development of areas such as IT, artificial intelligence and the creative economy. Through this, we will bring 10 million of our young people into the digital industry and the professions of the future.

On the eve of our Independence holiday, the launch of the "Samarkand-2028" satellite into space together with our Chinese partners gives us particular pride.

My intention is this: Uzbekistan must become a center that offers the world advanced initiatives in technology fields.

The Uzbek language must become a language in which science and technology are created in the digital world.

Dear compatriots!

When speaking about human dignity, it is natural for us to pay special attention to the health of our population. In recent years, we have increased the funds allocated to this sector more than eightfold. Most importantly, the opportunity to receive quality medical services has been created not only in the capital but also in the regions.

In the past period, 652 new medical institutions were built in our country, and thanks to the broad opportunities given to the private sector, the volume of medical services has increased threefold. Our efforts to establish the training of highly qualified doctors and to create conditions for them are yielding results. More than 100 complex diagnostic and treatment methods that were previously performed abroad are now being carried out flawlessly in our country as well.

Overall, the increase in the population's average life expectancy from 66.4 years in 1991 to 75.4 years in 2025, and the fourfold reduction in infant and maternal mortality, are the most important results of our reforms in this sector.

Dear friends!

Our beloved Motherland has always been a land of great thinkers, revered saints and great scholars. In a manner worthy of this priceless heritage, we have built unique scientific and educational centers such as the Center of Islamic Civilization and the Imam Bukhari and Burhoniddin Marg'inoniy memorial complexes.

These magnificent and sacred places are today receiving the rightful recognition not only of our country and the Islamic world but of people throughout the world. We will continue such construction work at an accelerated pace.

Respected participants of the celebration!

Our greatest wealth is the youth of New Uzbekistan, who are the decisive force of our tomorrow. To support our striving and diligent sons and daughters and to open broad opportunities for them, 20–25 trillion soums are allocated every year.

Today, young entrepreneurs make up 35 percent of business representatives in Uzbekistan.

The historic achievements of our young athletes at the Tokyo and Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and in arenas around the world gave our people boundless pride.

Our footballers took part in the World Cup for the first time, opening a new page in the history of Uzbek sport. We believe that the path they have begun will certainly be lasting and triumphant.

In the coming days, a major sporting event, the World Chess Olympiad, will begin in Samarkand. In November, our famous grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov will enter the contest for the world chess crown.

I wish my chess-playing sons and daughters great victories in these competitions!

I regard our young people who are taking top places at international science olympiads, competitions and festivals as the stars of New Uzbekistan and the builders of the future!

Never stop striving forward and searching constantly, my dear children!

Respected compatriots!

Today we stand at an even more responsible and decisive moment in history. Our country is stepping into a completely new era of development. The coming decade will be an era of national advancement for us.

We will build this ourselves, solely through the intellect, labor and unity of our people. To this end, in the coming years we will implement 7 national programs in our country that will further elevate human dignity.

The first national program will consist of turning knowledge and skills into the main capital of our future development.

We will bring the coverage of 6-year-old children in preparatory groups to 100 percent in a short time. The existing benefits for establishing private kindergartens will be preserved.

All schools will be fully covered by international assessment programs.

We will introduce international education standards in the technical colleges across our country. By organizing the training of our young people in high-income professions there, we will expand coverage to 1 million. In a word, in New Uzbekistan, not a single young man or woman will remain without a profession.

We set as a major milestone the inclusion of at least 10 of our universities in the TOP 1,000 in the coming years.

The second national program serves to ensure the health and longevity of our people.

To this end, over the next five years we will raise state expenditures on public health to 5 percent of gross domestic product.

By strengthening prevention in medicine, we will move to a model of safeguarding health. State medical insurance will reach every household in the country.

In order to strengthen the competitive environment in specialized medicine, we will bring in at least 5 of the world's most prestigious clinics.

We will turn our country into a place where modern medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical education flourish.

Esteemed participants of the event!

The third national program is the transition of our economy to a model of high technology and labor productivity.

To this end, over the next ten years we will attract 450 billion dollars in foreign investment. While maintaining a high growth rate in the economy, gross domestic product will reach 300 billion dollars by 2030, and 2 million high-income jobs will be created in industry.

In fully realizing the potential of our youth, the development of startups, venture capital and artificial intelligence will become a priority direction.

In addition, we will establish a comprehensive ecosystem so that small businesses grow into medium-sized businesses, and medium-sized enterprises into large companies and corporations. As a result, over the next ten years, gross domestic product per capita will surpass the 10,000-dollar mark.

Dear friends!

Amid global climate change, issues of water and the environment are becoming ever more pressing.

Therefore, the fourth national program is aimed at fundamentally changing our attitude toward water and nature.

Over the next five years, we will bring the coverage of water-saving technologies on cropland to 100 percent. This will become a nationwide target.

Attitude toward nature is a reflection of a people's culture, the state's responsibility and a qualitative indicator of progress. Therefore, we will take the nationwide "Green Space" movement in our country to a new qualitative stage. The green areas around schools, kindergartens, hospitals and apartment buildings will be protected as the inviolable wealth of society. In the coming years, we will increase the extent of greenery in district and city centers to 30 percent.

Dear compatriots!

Where justice prevails, both economic growth and social trust rise.

In this regard, the fifth national program consists of strengthening the independence of the judiciary and making the rule of law a shared value.

To this end, we will establish legal education on a clear, systematic basis starting from school. We will resolutely continue our reforms to strengthen the legal guarantees of citizens and entrepreneurs. We will further intensify measures to prevent cybercrime, drug addiction and human trafficking.

We will take the fight against the "shadow economy," organized crime, and discrimination against the rights of women and children to a new level.

Dear fellow countrymen!

The mood of our people, the well-being of families, the aspirations of young people and the initiative of entrepreneurs are manifested, first and foremost, in the mahalla.

Therefore, the sixth national program is directed at making the mahalla the main customer of societal development.

Now the approach to developing state programs will change completely. The district budget, investment program and infrastructure projects will be developed on the basis of the mahalla's requests. In this, the demands and needs of citizens and the well-being of the mahalla will be established as the most important criterion.

Esteemed participants of the celebration!

The seventh national program consists of comprehensively enhancing Uzbekistan's standing as a land of peace and friendship and a tolerant country.

In our country, representatives of more than 130 nationalities and ethnic groups and members of 16 religious confessions live in harmony and concord, like children of one family.

In today's turbulent times, interethnic harmony and religious tolerance are the golden fund and priceless wealth of our people.

Our open, pragmatic and peace-loving policy is aimed at ensuring our long-term development.

Historic achievements have been made in expanding good-neighborly relations, strategic partnership and friendship in Central Asia.

Our relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Union, America, the Asia-Pacific region and the countries of the Arab-Muslim world have been further strengthened. New directions of cooperation have opened in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America.

The number of states that have established diplomatic relations with our country has reached nearly 170.

To turn Uzbekistan into an important center of international diplomacy, we will continue a multifaceted, measured and balanced foreign policy. Economic diplomacy will remain one of the priority directions of our foreign policy.

In 2027–2029, our country will chair the Non-Aligned Movement for the first time. We will actively advance initiatives aimed at increasing the effectiveness of this global structure, which unites more than 120 countries of the world.

We will firmly continue our constructive policy toward Afghanistan, our immediate neighbor.

Taking this opportunity, I express special gratitude for effective cooperation to the representatives of the diplomatic corps, the staff of foreign media outlets, and our distinguished guests from the USA, Türkiye and Singapore who are taking part in today's celebration.

My dear and respected compatriots!

I would like to state one thought with confidence.

Today we are stronger than yesterday. God willing, tomorrow we will be even stronger.

Our thirty-five-year path of independent development has taught us one truth: when the people and the state unite for a single goal and act with sincere dedication, there is no milestone that cannot be conquered.

There is no force that can defeat a people and a state possessing such great power.

As a single Homeland and a single people, together we will build a new life and our great future!

I am confident that our steadfast, courageous and noble people will certainly achieve the lofty goals they have set for themselves.

We will all together surely create the golden age of our Homeland and its new great history!

Boundless thanks be to our Creator, who bestowed upon us the blessing of independence!

Glory and honor to our people, the creator and true builder of our independence!

Once again, I congratulate you, and through you our entire people, on today's great holiday—the thirty-fifth anniversary of the state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

May our country be peaceful, and may our homes be prosperous and flourishing!

Long live the Republic of Uzbekistan!

Long live the people of Uzbekistan!