OREANDA-NEWS. January 31, 2013. A session of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dedicated to the results of socio-economic development in the republic in 2012 and the main priorities of economic program for the year 2013 took place.

At the session the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov delivered a review speech.

In his report the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov provided a detailed and comprehensive analysis of existing challenges and outlined tasks on existing main priorities and directions of socio-economic development of the country for 2013. The government, ministries and agencies were tasked with development of specific measures to ensure complex development of regions, based on identifying priority spheres for each region, fully utilizing natural and raw resources, rapid and balanced development of industries, particularly of processing industries and service sector, industrial and social infrastructure.

Management of ministries, agencies, business entities and regional executive bodies are assigned specific tasks on development and implementation of a set of measures aimed at maintaining high economic growth rates, macroeconomic stability, increasing competitiveness of the country’s economy, active investment policy implementation, acceleration and enhancement of scopes of modernization, technical and technological renovation of the economy and its leading spheres, diversification of production, as well as advanced development of transport and communication infrastructure.

The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov outlined tasks for rapid implementation of measures and projects in the field of information and communication technologies. In his report, he said, in particular:

"More and more importance is being paid to rapid implementation of measures and projects in the field of information and communication technologies. We must realize that without a cardinal, I would say the explosive progress towards wide implementation in all areas of economy, of modern information and communication systems to our everyday life, it is difficult to see the future. We need in the shortest possible time, not only to eliminate the gap occurring in many kinds of information services, but also to enter into the category of advanced countries with a high level of information and communication technologies" - said the head of the state.

"This year we should ensure the implementation of projects for the development of digital television by setting 5 digital television transmitters in Djizak, Tashkent, Fergana, and Khorezm regions and increase the coverage of the population of the republic with digital TV from 42 to 45 percent.

The construction of over two thousand kilometers of fiber-optic broadband networks for the provision of modern technologies with video telephony, Internet TV, high speed Internet, viewing of HDTV and others should be completed.

Newly established State Committee for Communications, Information and telecommunication technologies as the main coordinating body in this field must take under a strict control the implementation of the Program for further implementation and development of information and communication technologies adopted last year, systematically inform the Government about the results of its implementation. Particular attention should be paid to speeding up the development of Concepts and a comprehensive program for the formation of the "e-Government" system, including management processes, and the processes of rendering public services to business and citizens, creation of the National System, integrating interdepartmental and departmental complexes of information systems".