A meeting organized to conduct a joint evaluation of the Public works program in Uzbekistan

19.06.2020

On June 18, this year, the first session of a series of meetings dedicated to evaluating the Public works program of Uzbekistan was held in the format of a videoconference. The main purpose of the meeting was to identify and discuss the main areas of evaluation based on the responses of the working group to a questionnaire prepared by ILO experts.

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During the welcome speech, First Deputy Minister of employment and labor relations E. Mukhitdinov noted the increasing role and relevance of public works in Uzbekistan, especially during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 200 billion soums were allocated to expand the scope and directions of services of the Public works fund for temporary employment.

At the same time, according to E. Mukhitdinov, a number of problems remain in the organization of public works, which require international expertise, in particular, from the ILO.

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ILO expert R.Pizarro stressed that this assessment of public works is one of the important areas of cooperation between the ILO and Uzbekistan within the framework of the Decent work country program, along with the development of a National employment strategy and a functional analysis of employment promotion centers.

During the meeting, ILO international consultant Maikel R. Lew-Ki-song introduced the participants of the videoconference to the process of evaluating the Public works program of Uzbekistan and the goals of subsequent meetings. In particular, at the next sessions, the team of the working group of Uzbekistan will receive the tools necessary for conducting a self-assessment, as well as present preliminary results and jointly with the ILO will determine the next steps of cooperation in this direction.

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During the meeting, participants discussed 4 main issues on the agenda: difficulties in selecting participants of the public works program; problems in implementing and using ICT systems; challenges to improve monitoring of the program; and cooperation with the private sector.

In conclusion, the parties identified the main list of issues that will be included in the agenda for discussion at the next meeting.