More than 60,000 youth representatives took part in the meeting through studios located in Karakalpakstan, the regions, and the city of Tashkent.
Warmly welcoming the participants, the Head of State noted that more than 22 million young people in the country constitute a major economic, social, and political force. It was emphasized that officials at all levels must actively work to teach young people languages and professions, involve them in sports, support their ideas, projects, and startups, and create conditions for them to have employment and a decent income, ensuring that no one is left without attention and support.
Thanks to the opportunities created in recent years, our young people have won 66 gold, 147 silver, and 221 bronze medals at international scientific Olympiads. The number of students studying at such prestigious universities as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Cornell has exceeded 500, while the number of our young men and women admitted to the world’s top 100 universities has reached more than 3,500. A total of 63 startup projects created by young compatriots have already entered the markets of the United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Our athletes have won 720 gold, 671 silver, and 854 bronze medals in international competitions. Today, 35 percent of business representatives in the country are young entrepreneurs.
In this context, Uzbekistan’s recognition as one of the most dynamically developing countries in the Global Youth Development Index is natural. The upcoming opening this year of the headquarters of the World Youth Movement for Peace in Tashkent, as well as the holding in Samarkand of the 12th Global Conference of Youth Parliament Members, the international startup summit “Take Off”, and the 46th World Chess Olympiad, will strengthen this status.
Noting that 600,000 young people enter the labor market each year and that this figure will reach 1 million by 2030, the President emphasized that creating conditions that enable young people to find employment aligned with their interests and abilities is a task of primary importance.
According to a survey of young people, one-third expressed a desire to become entrepreneurs.
It was noted that last year, $400 million was allocated to banks and the Youth Affairs Agency to promote youth employment, and through the “Yoshlar Biznesi” and “Kelajakka Qadam” programs, 15,000 young people launched their own businesses, creating jobs for 50,000 people.
As a continuation of this work, it was announced that an additional $200 million would be allocated to support youth entrepreneurship.
At the same time, financing opportunities will be expanded: the loan amount for young self-employed individuals will increase from 100 million UZS to 300 million UZS. Projects initiated by young entrepreneurs may receive loans of up to 10 billion UZS. It will be allowed to invest up to $100,000 in innovative startups. Convenient financing packages will be introduced for young people interested in opening franchise branches of local brands that have created more than 1,000 jobs in the service and catering sectors.
Starting this year, the “Kelajak Tadbirkori” program will be launched, under which young entrepreneurs will be eligible for loans for up to 7 years at an annual interest rate of 15 percent.
In particular, collateral-free loans of up to 20 million UZS will be provided to self-employed young people, up to 300 million UZS to youth starting their own businesses, up to 2 billion UZS to those intending to expand their activities, and up to 10 billion UZS to entrepreneurs who have employed at least five graduates.
It was also noted that 30 percent of young people beginning entrepreneurial activities face difficulties due to a lack of business skills. In this regard, youth business incubators will be established in every region to provide comprehensive services in entrepreneurship training, transforming ideas into businesses, accounting and banking support, marketing, and assistance in entering domestic and international markets.
Noting the readiness of several prestigious foreign universities to cooperate in training young people in entrepreneurship based on advanced international experience, it was decided to launch the “Yangi Avlod Tadbirkorlari” program, under which at least 40,000 young people are planned to be trained in business skills. Projects submitted by the top 1,000 participants who complete the program will receive loans of up to 200 million UZS at an interest rate of 7 percent for 3 years.
An annual “Young Entrepreneurs” competition will also be held, under which up to 1 billion UZS will be allocated from the “Yoshlar Ventures” fund to develop and promote 100 of the best projects into established brands.
Starting March 1, the State Fund for the Development of Youth Entrepreneurship will cover the expenses of young aspiring entrepreneurs for government services related to infrastructure connections.
A task has been set to expand the experience of the inclusive social initiatives camp “Voice Up” by holding similar events in every region, involving 1,000 young participants, and organizing an International Inclusive Youth Camp in Samarkand featuring the best initiatives.
Within the framework of the “Upshift” project, competitions will also be held this year across media, design, handicrafts, manufacturing, and innovation. A total of 2 billion UZS will be allocated to finance the 40 best startups.
Tasks have been identified to update educational programs at technical colleges in line with employers’ requirements, expand dual education coverage, and improve the material and technical base.
Technical colleges, like universities, will be allowed to establish spin-offs, and up to 1 billion UZS will be allocated for students’ startup projects. Starting this year, technical college students will also be able to work abroad for six months under the “Work and Travel” program to earn additional income, with participants receiving loans to cover travel expenses.
It was noted that the support mechanism for young people holding foreign language certificates has proven effective: the number of young people who have obtained such certificates has exceeded 600,000, and a corps of 72,000 instructors fluent in foreign languages has been formed. The number of private educational centers has tripled, surpassing 38,000.
The initiative to establish an Association of Private Educational Centers was supported. Entrepreneurs leasing premises to centers that are members of the association will be exempt from paying tax on rental income and corporate profit tax. A practice will also be introduced to send teachers from such centers for internships at leading educational institutions.
Within the framework of the “Komak” program, interest-free loans of up to 300 million UZS will be provided to expand the operations of foreign-language training centers in remote and hard-to-reach regions. Educational centers in remote areas will pay a social tax of 1 percent, while teachers' income tax will be set at 7.5 percent, down from the current 12 percent.
Additional benefits have been defined for educational centers that provide free training to young people from low-income families at the local level: they will be exempt from land and property taxes, 50 percent of utility expenses will be reimbursed, and personal income tax and social tax paid for teachers will be returned in the form of cashback.
Special attention was given to developing volunteer activities. It was noted that, thanks to the established legal framework, the number of volunteers in the country has increased fivefold and exceeded 100,000 people engaged in environmental protection, healthcare, education, and emergency assistance.
To develop the volunteer movement, it is planned to establish a Board of Trustees and a Volunteer Support Fund under the Youth Affairs Agency. Each year, 20 billion UZS will be allocated to the fund from the state budget, along with an additional 3 billion UZS from local budgets. These funds will be used to provide grants of up to 100 million UZS for volunteer projects, and a point-based system will be introduced through a “social activity card”.
Issues related to supporting young families and promoting reading were also discussed at the meeting.
It was noted that under the mortgage program for young families, any interest rate exceeding 14 percent will be compensated by the state budget.
Through the Reading Culture Development Fund, it is planned to place creative commissions with the most talented writers, providing payments of 20 million UZS per month for one year, as well as to compensate 50 percent of the costs for translating and publishing the best examples of foreign literature into Uzbek and national literature into foreign languages.
A task has been set to prepare a collection of the 100 best works before the start of the new academic year and supply it to all schools and technical colleges, as well as to reward the most active student readers with a prize of 10 million UZS.
For entrepreneurs opening libraries, book cafés, and bookstores and selling 10,000 books per month, a mechanism has been introduced to provide concessional loans of up to 1 billion UZS for a period of three years at an annual interest rate of 7 percent.
The launch of the “Second Chance” project was announced, aimed at accelerating the social adaptation of young people returning from correctional institutions. Within the framework of the project, intensive 8-12-month courses in programming, web design, computer engineering, other professions, and foreign languages will be organized to promote employment and stable income generation.
Following the meeting, the Head of State spoke with young people and listened to their proposals and initiatives across various areas. Reports by responsible officials were also heard during the event.
