Hurmatli xonimlar va janoblar, Janob Khusanov, Adrien xonim, Aziz do’stlar va hamkorlar, Assalomu alaykum!

United Nations Development Programme is pleased to be part of this timely and relevant discussion on Labor migration trends: challenges and opportunities.

The reasons are obvious, as we speak:

• in Uzbekistan, the most populous and most migrant-supplying country in Central Asia. At least three million Uzbek nationals - according to IOM, are making earnings abroad mainly in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
• at times when migration, as many other aspects, is largely disrupted by pandemics, conflicts, climate change, and other global trends.

These are trends that did not miss to hit Uzbekistan. As a result of the Covid pandemic, migration abroad also came to an abrupt halt, and tens of thousands of households were left without the remittance income they typically rely on. However, the situation was clearly on a path to recovery by late 2020, and the economic situation steadily improved in 2021. Recently, the war in Ukraine triggered another wave of returning migrants, albeit not as much as originally feared, at least not till now.

Uzbekistan’s labor migration is indeed rather strategic topic:

• With its growing demographic Uzbekistan is a country with vast potential for labor migration. The new entrants to the labor market of about 600,000 per year are huge potential of the country, but if not properly utilized can be a risk!  
• Emigration is an attractive pathway out of poverty and hardship for many households. According to the WB, for the bottom fifth of the population, remittances account for 11 percent of the total income, and that without remittance income, the poverty rate might have significantly risen (even if all migrants were to find employment at local wage).

UNDP takes development approach to migration, which rests on the idea that human mobility represents an opportunity not only for the people on the move, but also for their countries of origin, transit and destination.

We envisage a more inclusive and prosperous world - by empowering migrants as agents of change and leaders in the development processes that shape their lives. This is central to the Sustainable Development Goals’ principle of leaving no one behind and the importance of making migration work for all.

We also argue that enhancing the contribution of human mobility to sustainable development also requires that the right policies and programmes are in place. And partnerships. All these are focus of this event.

From other countries we learn that to capitalize on the opportunities presented by international migration, it is important to focus on capacity building to support international labor migrants. Such as intensive language training and in-demand skills acquisition; formal job matching services; training in legal rights; family support programs; and policy reform to streamline travel, and registration requirements. Formalizing arrangements with host countries for migrants’ rights, and recognizing specific issues like pension contributions, is another important measure. All these are relevant for Uzbekistan.

To sum up, to leverage on the international labor migration for the sake of accelerated development of Uzbekistan, it is critical that it is inclusive and resilient and supported by strong national policy, capacity and action.

Which leads to the aspects that will be critical for such outcome, at this point:

a) Diversified and safe destinations for labor migration,

b) For the labor migration potential of Uzbekistan to be utilized the prevailing challenges need to be addressed.

With its large young, English-speaking population, Uzbekistan has great opportunities to integrate into the global labor movement - in different destinations and recipient countries.

Safe and orderly organized labor migration mechanisms can bring sustainable, development value, and are necessity for protecting the rights of migrants and economic growth in Uzbekistan.

We see that systemic reforms in the field of migration management and protection of migrants have been implemented during the recent years. The Government is taking actions to enable migration, for example:

• Fund to support and protect the rights and interests of citizens working abroad was created,  
• Law "On Private Employment Agencies" was adopted and improved;
• Presidential Decrees were adopted in 2020 and 2021 to implement a system of organized labor migration.

There are still challenges for full benefit of country’s potential in labor migration. Some of them relate to:

• Availability of safe and orderly organized labor migration to the countries of destination;
• Limited access to diversified labor markets in recipient countries, so much needed for being competitive;
• Gaps in skills development and competencies of youth, women and entrepreneurs;
• Lack of high-quality data and evidence about the scope and nature of both formal and informal labor migration in different sectors.

With this understanding and based on the long-term engagement on creating inclusive and resilient societies, UNDP is supporting the partners in addressing these challenges. Particularly in relation to:

• Enhancement of active labor market policies and introduction of integrated social support to labor migrants;
• Widening the geography of organized labor migration flows through:

(1) development of skills based on EU standards - to expand and diversify the options for safe and high earnings of labor migrants.

(2) enhancing the institutional capacity of the Ministry for tackling challenges of labor migration in the regions. This includes advising on training topics, organizing training for potential and returning migrants on psychological support, family planning, smooth re-integration into society. As well as language trainings and pre-departure orientation.

I hope this event will be useful from the perspective of further inspiring the Government’s labor migration policies and measures, as well as diversifying possibilities for safe and orderly migration. But also, for better understanding of the vast potential of the Uzbek labor force. Ultimately for expanded opportunity of those people that take the journey abroad, for the sake of them, their families and the country.

E’tiboringiz uchun katta rahmat!