President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev Photo: Official website of the President of Uzbekistan
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated Shavkat Mirziyoyev on his election as Uzbek president.
In his congratulatory message, Xi pointed out that in recent years, China-Uzbekistan relations, under their joint guidance, have achieved leapfrog development, with cooperation in various fields comprehensively strengthened.
Noting that he highly values the good working relationship and personal friendship with Mirziyoyev, Xi said that he stands ready to work with Mirziyoyev to promote the sustained development of the China-Uzbekistan comprehensive strategic partnership and further energize the building of a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future.
On July 9, 2023, presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan. According to the country's Central Election Commission (CEC), incumbent president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party, won 87.05 percent of the vote.
In addition to Mirziyoyev, there were three more candidates nominated for the post of President of Uzbekistan by other parties.
The CEC chairman said that the elections were held in conditions of real competition between candidates, in accordance with international standards and national legislation.
Following the results of the national referendum and the adoption of the new Constitution on May 1, 2023, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at a meeting with the leaders of both chambers of parliament, parties, judicial and executive authorities, put forward the initiative of early presidential elections. Normally it would happen three and a half years later, in 2026.
This need for holding snap elections was proposed in view of the wide-scale reforms of all branches of Government on the basis of the updated Constitution.
Mirziyoyev participated in the elections for the third time. In December 2016, he won with over 88 percent of the vote. In the elections held in October 2021, 80.12 percent of voters voted for him.
According to analysts, in December 2016, when Mirziyoyev took the highest post, the task was to bring Uzbekistan to a new stage of development. Mirziyoyev was also approved as Prime Minister three times in a row in 2005, 2010 and 2015 by the chambers of parliament.
These years, Uzbekistan has witnessed a number of historical changes: the volume of the Uzbek economy has doubled, and in the coming years, GDP is expected to exceed $100 billion.
Despite the crisis of the global economy and the instability of the external environment, Uzbekistan managed to maintain high economic growth (an average of 5 percent). By the end of 2023, the IMF expects the growth of Uzbek GDP by 6 percent, which indicates the country's dynamic development.
Director of the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Sun Zhuangzhi's article "Shavkat Mirziyoyev leads Uzbekistan into a new era" focuses on the fact that Shavkat Mirziyoyev's proactive foreign policy, which identified the strengthening of good neighborliness and mutual trust in Central Asia as the main priority, provided cardinal shifts in the development of regional processes cooperation, created a new climate of interaction, and strengthened the interconnectedness of the states of the region.
"By carrying out important transformations and opening the era of 'New Uzbekistan,' Shavkat Mirziyoyev among the people secured the status of the leader of the nation, who leads the country to further development and modernization. Thanks to the ongoing reforms under the leadership of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has become a dynamically developing state, demonstrating a sustainable pace of development, the ability to protect its independence, and the peaceful life of the people, fully relying on its own strengths and potential," Sun said.
Global Times - Xinhua
