New Uzbekistan open for wide practical cooperation in sustainable and “green” development

President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed Al Nahyan, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland Petteri Orpo, as well as heads of state and government of a number of other countries, international organizations and financial institutions are also attending the summit.

In line with the agenda of the forum, the issues of sustainable development, promotion of innovations, green economy and regional interconnectivity were discussed.

In his speech, the Head of our state noted that nowadays diversification of energy sources and drastic reduction of the share of hydrocarbons are the main conditions for mitigating the consequences of climate change, ensuring sustainable development and global security.

It was emphasized that the strategic goal of New Uzbekistan is to ensure environmental sustainability and economic growth through the transition to a resource-saving, “green” model of development.

- That is why 2025 has been declared the “Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy” in Uzbekistan, - underlined Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The President of Uzbekistan noted that our country has developed a long-term Strategy of low-carbon development and the National Program of “green” financing. In the next 5 years, “green” components in investment projects will be increased up to 50 percent.

Work is underway to introduce national systems for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and emissions trading. It is planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2030, with a subsequent gradual increase of this indicator.

Within the framework of the “Yashil Makon” program, at least 30 per cent of urban areas in the country will be greened. Systematic measures are being taken to achieve 100 percent coverage of agriculture with water-saving technologies.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev drew attention to the swift development of “green” capacities to fully meet the energy needs of the rapidly growing economy of our country.

- Over the past 5 years, almost $20 billion of foreign investments have been attracted to the energy sector, modern energy capacities of 9.6 gigawatts have been put into operation. In particular, 14 solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 3.5 gigawatts, as well as 2 energy storage systems for 300 megawatts have been created, - noted the Head of State.

Currently, more than 50 large projects worth over $26 billion are being implemented jointly with foreign partners to produce a total of 24 gigawatts of electricity. By 2030, it is planned to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 54 percent.

- Today, green development in Uzbekistan has been raised to the level of a nationwide movement, - said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The Head of our state stressed the importance of increasing regional cooperation to turn Central Asia into one of the centers of development of “green” economy and “clean energy”.

The first steps have been taken to revive the Great Silk Road through energy interconnectivity. The multilateral agreement recently signed with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan within the framework of COP-29 will allow for the export of green energy to Europe.

- I would like to emphasize that the United Arab Emirates is our reliable and strategic partner in the field of green energy, - said the leader of Uzbekistan.

In recent years, the investment portfolio with the Emirates has exceeded $26 billion. Renewable energy projects are the driving force.

Together with Masdar, 5 power generation facilities with a total capacity of 1.5 gigawatts have been commissioned. Three projects will be implemented to create generating capacities of 1.6 gigawatts, and energy storage systems with a capacity of about 520 megawatts per hour will be built.

Similar projects are also being implemented together with other leading Emirati companies, as well as partners from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and China.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed our country's interest in joint implementation of the huge potential of Central Asia in the field of solar, water and wind energy, as well as the production of “green” hydrogen.

According to preliminary estimates, Uzbekistan alone has the potential to produce 500 gigawatts of solar, 100 gigawatts of wind and 10 gigawatts of hydro energy.

Our region is rich in huge reserves of uranium and other important strategic raw material resources.

- We are ready to provide our foreign partners with the most favorable conditions in this field, - highlighted the leader of Uzbekistan.

He called on leading scientific centers, experts and scientists participating in the forum to actively cooperate with the Green University opened in Tashkent in the implementation of research and innovation programs.

It was proposed to create an international research network on combating land degradation and desertification at this university.

It was noted that at the summits COP-28 and COP-29 in Dubai and Baku, as well as other international forums Uzbekistan has put forward a number of initiatives to combat the negative consequences of global climate change.

Among them are the establishment of the International Center for Damage and Loss Assessment, ensuring the safety of river ecosystems, establishing a regional hub for the introduction of water-saving technologies, creating a bank of plant genetic resources and others.

- We are ready to start practical work in these areas with all our partners, - said the President of Uzbekistan.

The Head of State informed that the regional concept of “green” development will be presented at the upcoming conference on global climate problems in Central Asia to be held in Uzbekistan this year.

He also invited representatives of the countries participating in the summit to the Global Youth Festival of Digital Green Initiatives scheduled to take place in the Aral Sea region on May 15, on International Climate Day.

At the end of his speech, the leader of our country once again emphasized the readiness of New Uzbekistan for broad practical cooperation on the path of sustainable and “green” development.