Uzbekistan intends to perform its commitment to halve poverty ahead of schedule and completely eliminate absolute poverty by international standards by 2030, announced the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Road to Prosperity international forum today in Namangan.

According to him, over the past eight years, the country has completed extensive amount of work to protect human rights, create decent jobs, increase incomes, and improve living conditions.

The head of state stressed that the fight against poverty has been elevated to the level of state policy and has become a nationwide movement.

He added that at the beginning of this process, the country lacked clear criteria for assessing poverty. However, with the support of the World Bank and UN agencies, national methodologies compliant with international standards have been developed.

The updated Constitution stipulates that pensions, benefits, and social assistance cannot be lower than the minimum consumer expenditure.

According to Mirziyoyev, thanks to the measures taken, 7.5 million people have been lifted out of poverty, and by 2024, the poverty rate has been reduced to 8.9%. By the end of this year, the figure is expected to be reduced to 6%.

He also stressed that the targeted outreach system implemented at the mahalla (neighborhood) level had proven its effectiveness. Specifically, each household is covered by an individual plan, the necessary resources are allocated, and between $2.5 and $3 billion is allocated annually for improvements, population support, and entrepreneurship development in mahallas.

To increase rural incomes, 235,000 hectares of cotton and grain crops were reduced, and instead, people began to receive 30-50 acres of land. This measure has helped increase the incomes of more than 800,000 people.

"In short, the business environment has penetrated every mahalla, and prosperity has reached every family. People are experiencing this in their lives. Thanks to such large-scale efforts, Uzbekistan is striving to fulfill its commitment to halve poverty by 2030 ahead of schedule. And we have every opportunity to completely eradicate absolute poverty by international standards by 2030," the president stated.

He cited the doubling of Uzbekistan's economy as one of the key factors in achieving these results. Per capita GDP is expected to reach $3,500 by the end of the year.

According to him, the country has developed a "New Uzbekistan" model for poverty reduction, taking into account international experience, its own initiatives, and the testing of new solutions.

First and foremost, targeted "social notebooks" have been introduced as an important tool during the transition period, reaching all families in need.

He reported that during the pandemic, 800,000 families received free medicine, 255,000 received food, and 1.2 million received social benefits. These measures have helped protect more than 5.2 million people from poverty and prevent an economic recession, the head of state stated.