Uzbekistan's ambassador to Belarus dismissed

Uzbekistan's Ambassador to Belarus, Rahmatulla Nazarov, has been dismissed from his post for showing insufficient attention to investment and foreign trade issues. The announcement was made today, July 21, during a videoconference meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to review the country's first-half performance and discuss priorities through the end of the year.

According to the meeting, 1,617 investment projects worth a combined $213 billion have been agreed upon during 52 high-level foreign visits in recent years. However, it was noted that oversight of the implementation of these projects has been inadequate.

Under the new system, responsibility for monitoring the implementation of project roadmaps will be assigned to the Accounts Chamber and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Prime Minister was instructed to hold weekly meetings with sectoral leaders, regional governors, and ambassadors to review the implementation of the roadmaps on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis.

The President also expressed concern over the performance of Uzbekistan's diplomatic missions abroad. Ambassador Rahmatulla Nazarov was dismissed over his lack of engagement in investment and foreign trade matters, while the work of ambassadors to France, Austria, Spain, Italy, Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore was also described as insufficiently effective.

Saida Mirziyoyeva, Head of the Presidential Administration, was instructed to establish a commission to assess the performance of diplomatic missions in the areas of economic diplomacy, investment, and exports, and to submit proposals for replacing underperforming diplomats with younger, forward-thinking personnel.