On 19 December, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the ceremony of presenting the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award, at the Tashkent Congress Centre.

The event was attended by the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is the initiator of this award, as well as representatives of the United Nations, delegations from over 40 countries, including all laureates of this international award.

Welcoming the forum participants, the President of Uzbekistan expressed gratitude to the Emir of Qatar and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime for the proposal to hold the event in Uzbekistan. He also sincerely congratulated the Qatari delegation and the people of Qatar on the Independence holiday, which was widely celebrated on December 18.

The Leader of Uzbekistan stressed that today, Qatar is becoming a center of global cooperation and diplomacy, as evidenced by the successfully held high-level FIFA World Cup, United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, the World Expo Doha 2023, and many other international initiatives.

The entry into an entirely new level of relations between Uzbekistan and Qatar and the implementation of several large joint projects were noted with satisfaction. It was emphasized that holding the current forum is evidence of the commonality and consonance of the two countries’ goals.

As the President of Uzbekistan noted, establishing a global award in anti-corruption, which is one of the most pressing problems in the rapidly changing world, and holding the award ceremony on all continents deserves wide recognition.

“After all, the fight against corruption is the sacred duty of every person with a clear conscience, every democratic society and state”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted.

According to him, recognition of the merits and presentation of this prestigious award to individuals who are most active and have made a worthy contribution to the fight against corruption in the world serves to consistently implement the UN Convention against Corruption, adopted exactly 20 years ago in 2003.

The Head of state said that corruption is a threat that undermines the foundations of all humanity, all societies, strikes the economy, violates the rule of law and sharply reduces people’s trust in state policy, and impedes the development of democratic institutions.

According to analysis, the damage caused by corruption in the world is about 3 trillion US dollars. "However, I believe that this figure does not fully reflect the true state of affairs and the real extent of the damage," said the Leader of Uzbekistan.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan is currently implementing systemic legal and institutional reforms in the fight against corruption, cooperating closely with the United Nations, the OECD, and other authoritative international structures. The Anti-Corruption Law has been adopted, and a corresponding Agency was established.

Preventive mechanisms are being widely implemented to ensure openness and transparency of activities, increase government responsibility, reduce bureaucracy, simplify public services, and prevent corruption.

In particular, compliance control and performance assessment systems have been launched in all government agencies. Public procurement has been fully digitalized.

Uzbekistan became a member of the International Charter for Open Data in 2021, effectively participates in the Istanbul Programme of Action, the Global Operational Network, the Eurasian and Egmont groups, and many other platforms, and serves as the Secretariat of the Asset Recovery Network in the states of West and Central Asia.

The traditional International Anti-Corruption Forum is held annually in Tashkent.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has climbed by 42 positions in the Transparency International Index, being ranked the highest in the region.  The goal was set to improve this ranking by another 50 positions by 2030.

Uzbekistan has risen to 30th place in the "Open Data Inventory" ranking and ranks 4th in the world in terms of the number of open data sources.

“In New Uzbekistan, democratic reforms are becoming irreversible, and we have also set ourselves big plans and tasks in combating corruption”, the Leader of Uzbekistan stated.

The Head of state put forward several proposals and initiatives to achieve them.

First, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2030 will be developed and implemented.

Particular attention will be paid to further ensuring transparency of activities and increasing the accountability of government bodies, improving the open data system, and strengthening the legal framework and institutional mechanisms in the fight against corruption.

Uzbekistan will also actively participate in regional and global initiatives and new anti-corruption projects. The capabilities of the Regional Platform of the Convention against Corruption, launched in Tashkent in November this year, will be widely used.

It was also proposed to establish a Regional Research Center on Corruption Issues to exchange experience, strengthen dialogue, and conduct scientific research with the active involvement of non-governmental non-profit organizations.

Close cooperation between the National Anti-Corruption Agency and foreign specialized institutions will also be strengthened, which will further enhance the potential of this Agency. Based on the best international experience, new mechanisms will be introduced, including the institution of a “preliminary study” of corruption cases – anti-corruption investigation.

The priority task is to form a new generation, which will be inoculated with the “Integrity Vaccine” from childhood. It is planned to widely implement the UN Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and increase the anti-corruption activity of youth in the country.

The President of Uzbekistan also proposed holding a Global Media Forum to effectively use the capabilities of journalists and further enhance their influence in the fight against corruption.

Following his speech, the Head of state cordially congratulated all the laureates on the prestigious award and wished them great success in ensuring justice.

The President of Uzbekistan and the Amir of Qatar solemnly presented statuettes of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award to its owners.

The award in the nomination “Lifetime or Outstanding Achievement” was awarded to the former chairman of Transparency International, Jose Carlos Ugas Sanchez Moreno (Peru).

Professor of the National University of Singapore John Quah ​ (Singapore) and Professor of the University of Zagreb Sunčana Roksandić (Croatia) were awarded in the nomination “Academic Research and Education”.

The awards “Youth Creativity and Engagement” went to the non-governmental organizations Youth4 Integrity Building (Kenya) – Director Damaris Aswa, and All4Integrity (Portugal) – Founder André Corrêa d'Almeida.

Investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown (UK) and former head of the Anti-Corruption Department of the UK Department for International Development Phil Mason were awarded in the “Innovation and Investigative Journalism” nomination.

Journalist and BBC News presenter Waihiga Mwaura (Kenya) and Editor at Central European News Shantanu Guha Ray (India) were awarded in the “Safeguarding Sports from Corruption” nomination.