Putin praises Saida Mirziyoyeva’s efforts to strengthen Russia–Uzbekistan youth ties

“Thirty years ago, Uzbekistan had a population of around 15 to 18 million. Today, that number has reached 38 million. The population is increasing by a million every year. Every single year. You understand how rapidly things are changing,” said Putin.

“Of course, we realize that there are many issues in both the labor market and the social sphere. We all understand this. That’s why Shavkat Miromonovich [Mirziyoyev] and I have agreed to tackle migration issues together — because we are fully aware of the current state of the labor market.

“There is a certain level of pressure on your side (Uzbekistan), but we have agreed on what needs to be done. We will address the matter of preparing individuals who wish to work in Russia. This includes learning the Russian language, understanding Russian culture, and so on — there is a well-developed plan in place. I hope we can implement all of this,” Putin stated.

He emphasized the importance of engaging with young people and noted that particular attention is now being paid to strengthening ties between Russian and Uzbek youth.

“Working with young people in this area is itself highly important and valuable. I completely agree with your viewpoint here. As far as I know, Shavkat Miromonovich’s aide — Saida Shavkatovna — was recently in Moscow and met with many of my colleagues in the government and Presidential Administration. Acting on the President’s directive, she is placing great emphasis on developing ties among youth, or more broadly speaking, fostering youth-related initiatives.

“There are concrete proposals on the table, and undoubtedly, we will all work on this together. The youth dimension is clearly one of the most important areas — I fully share your view on this,” said President Putin in response to a question from Abdusaid Kuchimov, Director-General of the Uzbek National News Agency (UzA).