14.05.2026

Dear Participants of the Forum,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to sincerely welcome our distinguished guests and warmly congratulate all of you on the opening of the Second Asian Women’s Forum.

I am delighted to convey my sincere greetings and best wishes to all participants gathered in the historic city of Bukhara, which has long been a cradle of science, culture, and civilization.

I would like to express my special gratitude to the United Nations and its specialized agencies, to all international organizations that supported the initiative to hold this Forum and are actively participating in its work, as well as to the members of parliamentary delegations from Asian countries, senators, and deputies.

It is widely recognized that the history, culture, and values of the peoples of Asia are closely interconnected and share common features. This acts as an important factor in strengthening regional cooperation across various spheres and promoting collaboration among women of different nationalities.

Today, women make up nearly half of the 5 billion people living on the Asian continent. In them, we see not only grace and beauty, but also a tremendous creative force that drives the development of our countries, enhances the well-being of our peoples, and contributes to building a just and harmonious world.

Your high professional competence, extensive knowledge and experience, as well as your strong commitment to solidarity, serve to effectively protect the rights and interests of women not only in our vast region, but throughout the world.

Distinguished Participants of the Conference,

Ensuring the rights, freedoms, and interests of women, along with enhancing their socio-political participation, has become one of the key priorities of the reforms being implemented in New Uzbekistan. Attention to women is, above all, a profound expression of respect for human dignity and universal values. Strengthening the role and status of women in society is not only an important political objective, but also an integral part of the consistent democratic reforms aimed at building a free and prosperous society.

In recent years, a strong legal and institutional framework has been established in our country to ensure gender equality. The new Constitution and the “Uzbekistan – 2030” Strategy have strengthened institutional guarantees of women’s rights and the protection of motherhood and childhood.

Thanks to large-scale reforms, the share of women in public administration has reached 35%, in the business sector 37%, and in the structure of political parties 49%. Uzbekistan has taken a leading position in international rankings on this indicator. In particular, in the “Women in Parliament” ranking compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, our country has risen to 35th place among 193 countries.

The growing number of women in leadership positions within the executive branch, as well as their more active participation in local government, ensures greater inclusiveness in government decision-making.

The share of women among university students has grown significantly. Notably, the number of women enrolled in master’s programmes has risen eleven times over the past five years. We regard this as a key strategic outcome of our reforms.

In our country, ensuring the economic independence of women has become one of the key development priorities. In 2025, 2.6 million women received support in obtaining more well-paid employment opportunities. I am pleased to note that this year Uzbekistan has advanced by 43 positions in the “Women, Business and the Law” index, reaching 48th place among 190 countries.

Dear Forum Participants,

In today’s complex and fast-changing world, there is an urgent need to significantly broaden women’s participation in the economy, strengthen their involvement in state and public governance, and fully harness their intellectual potential. In this regard, we are keen to further expand multifaceted cooperation among businesswomen of our countries, including through the organization of business forums and international training programmes.

We also propose to create a platform that will provide training in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, which are rapidly becoming part of our daily lives, and support new startup projects to bring the opportunities of businesswomen in our countries to a new level.

International Family Day will be widely celebrated around the world tomorrow. In Eastern countries, the preservation of family values and traditions, which form a solid foundation and cornerstone of society, has become an issue of growing importance in recent years. Within the framework of this Forum, the exchange of best practices through the establishment of a network of research institutions focused on the study of the family institution in our countries will certainly produce the desired results.

Overall, this Forum will undoubtedly serve as a productive platform for dialogue, contributing to the strengthening of women’s role in decision-making at all levels across Asia in the future. In this regard, I firmly believe that, within the framework of this event, you will actively promote new initiatives and noble ideas aimed at sustainable development.

I wish you all good health, family happiness, and every success in your distinguished work and in the proceedings of the Forum.

 

Shavkat Mirziyoyev,

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

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