It all began on 30 December 2016
Everything began on 30 December 2016 - one of
the busiest and most intense days at the end of the year - with a meeting with
academicians. On the eve of the New Year, when everyone was occupied with
family and official matters, the Head of our state, President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev, set aside five to six hours from his schedule and met directly with
our country's academicians. The topic of the conversation was not an easy one:
at that time, the Academy of Sciences was in a difficult condition, the science
system had lost its direction, and many scientists were unable to realize their
potential. The President listened patiently to every academician, hearing each
opinion and proposal to the end. Although it was clear by the end of the
conversation that he was not fully satisfied, he drew a firm conclusion: the
science ecosystem must be restored. After all, we have the legacy of great
scholars whose work has continued since the Middle Ages - Al-Khwarizmi, Biruni,
Ibn Sina, Ulugh Beg and others - and this legacy calls today’s generation to
achievements worthy of it. From that very day - not from a routine
administrative order, but from personal, deep conviction and responsibility - a
new path for Uzbekistan’s science began.
A nine-year
foundation
One could simply count the years that have
passed, but the meaning behind the numbers is more important. In 2017, soon
after that meeting, the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan was revived. A number
of institutes that had previously been removed from its structure were returned,
a special Presidential resolution was adopted to restore its material and
technical base, and substantial funding was allocated. Not long afterward, by
the autumn of 2017, for the first time in the country’s history, the Ministry
of Innovative Development was established to deal specifically with science and
innovation. A short, three-year Innovation Development Strategy was adopted,
and the main steps were clearly defined. As a result, during 2017-2021, the
foundation was laid. The historic laws “On Science and Scientific Activity” and
“On Innovation Activity” were adopted, and the “Concept for the Development of
Science until 2030” was approved. To take stock of science and innovative
development, the practice of preparing a National Report was introduced. The
2017-2021 assessment of this open and analytical National Report was then
published.
In 2022, in the National Report prepared
under the World Bank project “Modernizing Uzbekistan’s National Innovation
System,” the entire ecosystem was mapped in detail for the first time across
six areas: public administration, education and human capital development, the
creation of knowledge and ideas, financing, infrastructure and
commercialization, and the culture of science. In that report, we were honest
with ourselves: we openly acknowledged that the link between science and
business was weak, and that most innovation activity remained concentrated in
Tashkent. This was not a report written for praise, but for correction.
In 2023, governance was strengthened: the
Ministry of Innovative Development was merged with the Ministry of Higher
Education, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations was
established. The goal was clear: to bring education, science and innovation
into a single integrated system, not to allow science policy to become a matter
of routine administration, but to preserve it as a national priority. As one of
the many specialists who were inside this process and took part in this work, I
can say that it was not an easy road - but it was not in vain.
The work carried out over nine years can be
described in one word: foundation. Laws, institutions, strategic planning and
integrated governance - all of these were the basis that may not always be
visible, but on which everything else must be built. It should be emphasized
that other countries in the world have also begun similar reforms. In some
neighboring countries, despite reforms that lasted more than ten years and the
creation of new ministries and programs, their positions in the Global
Innovation Index changed little, while the share of high-technology exports
declined over the years. Although the number of scientific articles increased
substantially, the number of citations to them, by contrast, fell, and patent
applications remained almost unchanged for nearly a decade. The reason is
simple: new laws and institutions were merely superimposed on an old, unchanged
system, while cooperation among higher education, business and the state often
remained at the level of forums and memoranda. As a result, reform remained
only on paper; in other words, around us, the notion of “innovation without
innovation” began to take shape.
Uzbekistan took a different path. We sought
not simply to “update” the system but to truly rebuild it from the ground up.
We did not limit ourselves to placing a new ministry on top of the old
structure; instead, we created a new institutional logic - first independent,
then deeply integrated with the education system, and constantly reviewing its
own work. The result is clear: in nine years, our ranking rose from 122nd to
79th. This means that the difference exists not only in words, but in practice.
Main
achievements - in the language of numbers
The results of nine years of work can be
shown not only in words, but also in numbers, and these numbers are clearly
recorded in all three National Reports.
First, the number and quality of scientists
grew. According to official data, the number of researchers per one million
inhabitants was 876 in 2020 and reached 1,002 in 2021, crossing the 1,000
threshold for the first time. The number of Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) almost
doubled. This means moving closer to the level of middle-income countries,
although a large gap still remains with developed countries; in South Korea,
for example, the figure is 7,980. Second, our country showed significant
progress in the Global Innovation Index: Uzbekistan, which ranked 122nd among
141 countries in 2015, rose to 79th place by 2025. But the most important point
here is not the ranking itself. For four consecutive years, the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recognized Uzbekistan as an
“overperformer” - a country achieving results considerably better than expected
for its level of economic development. In other words, we are achieving
progress not only through material wealth, but through intellect. Third,
through the two laws mentioned above and the “Concept for the Development of
Science until 2030,” a unified legal foundation for science and innovation was
created in the country for the first time. This is an invisible, but very
important, result: from now on, every subsequent decision can rely on this
foundation.
Now - the
time for practice and results
Yet a foundation is not the building itself.
Today we are perhaps entering the most responsible stage: the laws,
institutions, infrastructure and governance system created over nine years must
now become practice and provide everyday benefit. Governance has become more
integrated and stronger - but that does not mean the road is finished. On the
contrary, this stage requires even greater attention, patience and funding,
because the task is no longer only to adopt a law or establish an institution.
The task now is to show how that law, that institution and that infrastructure
work in the daily life of a farmer, a scientist, an entrepreneur and an
ordinary citizen.
Here, I do not want to hide anything from the
newspaper reader: the problems we ourselves identified in the 2022 National
Report - the weak link between science and business, the shortage of mechanisms
for commercializing research, the low level of scientific activity outside
Tashkent - have still not been fully solved. It must also be said openly that
funding allocated to science does not exceed 0.14 percent of GDP, while the
world average is 2.63 percent, 15 to 20 times higher than our level. This is
not a sign of weakness, but a clear indicator of where more attention is
needed: the foundation has been built, and now the building must rise upon it -
practical results, benefit and trust.
Nearly one
million new lives and Central Asia
Now, let us look to the future. Every year,
nearly one million babies are born in our country, and almost one-third of our
population consists of children and young people under the age of fifteen. This
is not just a demographic figure; it is a question of what kind of society we
will build in the coming decade.
What are we preparing these young people for?
If they learn only to pass exams, obtain a diploma and search for a job, we will
lose a great opportunity. But if, from school onward, they are raised in the
spirit of science, experimentation and entrepreneurship, each of them may
become a future scientist, farmer-innovator or startup founder.
At the same time, Uzbekistan is now assuming
responsibility not only within its own borders, but also in the region. As one
of the founding states of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in
1993, Uzbekistan will chair this fund for a third time in 2027-2029. Addressing
issues such as water, climate, food security and digital governance not only at
the national level, but also at the regional level, is the next major task
before us.
A special
word to every reader
This article may be read by people of
different professions, different ages and different views, and therefore I
would like to address them in this way.
Nine years of work are proof of how the
direction of the entire state system has changed under the leadership of our
President. Now every ministry and every local administration must see science
and innovation not as an addition but as a primary instrument in their own
fields. To the science and education community, I want to emphasize: every
article you write, every patent you create, every student you train is a
national asset. Do not stop on this path. But now the question is this: where
has this knowledge worked, and in whose life has it made a difference? We must
ask ourselves this question constantly.
Turning to young people and young
entrepreneurs, I want to say that our rise in international rankings should
serve to create opportunities for you. Startups, laboratories and farms are all
waiting for your ideas. Your enthusiasm, aspiration and constructive
initiatives are a very important force. Every soum allocated - and to be
allocated - to science, innovation and education is not an expense, but a
long-term investment, provided that it is joined with your energy and
knowledge. The numbers mentioned above - the growing number of researchers, the
rising ranking - will certainly give you wings.
Conclusion:
from ranking to ecosystem, from ecosystem to future
Nine years ago, the question before our
country was: why is science not visible? Today, the question is different: whom
does science serve? Science must reach real life, turning from theory into
trust and, in the hands of young people, into a step toward the future. We, the
children of New Uzbekistan, are responsible not only for developing our
homeland, but also for contributing to the development of our region through
our science. Then our leadership in science will become not merely a national
achievement, but shared progress - and a model for the whole world. We have not
yet reached the milestone set by the Head of our state, who began this path and
placed his trust in science, young people and the future. The road toward that
milestone is, right now, entering a new, broader and deeper stage.
Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov,
Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan,
Academician
