Parliamentary State Secretary Anette Kramme visited Uzbekistan from 15 to 18 July. Since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Federal Government has been offering Central Asian countries more dialogue and economic cooperation with Germany. Currently, the Federal Government’s Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, Dr Joachim Stamp, is negotiating a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Uzbekistan. Youth unemployment in the country is high while Germany lacks skilled workers in some areas.
In addition to this issue, it was above all Uzbekistan's reform efforts in the area of employment and social policy that prompted the trip In cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the systematic use of child labour and forced labour in cotton harvesting has largely been abolished. In addition, the social security of the population is to be enhanced, (continuing) vocational training is to be expanded and access to the labour market for women and people with disabilities is to be improved. Germany supports these reform efforts.
Parliamentary State Secretary Kramme talked with the Uzbek Labour Minister, the Deputy Chairman of the Senate and the Director of the National Agency for Social Protection about the possibility of stepping up the exchange of views between Uzbek and German experts on these topics.
Parliamentary State Secretary Kramme spoke with local organisations and companies to learn about the progress and challenges of the reforms. In Taschkent and Samarkand she met with representatives of the ILO, of the organisation for people with disabilities, of non-governmental organizations to enhance women’s rights and with the German organisations GIZ, Goethe-Institut and KfW. She also visited two centres for (continuing) vocational training, a company from the cotton industry and a women’s refuge for victims of domestic violence.
We recognize the reform efforts of the Uzbek government to bolster human rights. These efforts include the fight against child labour and forced labour in cotton harvesting and enhancing the rights of women and of people with disabilities. Uzbekistan is an impressive example of the fact that the promotion of fundamental labour standards can be a strong engine of effective and long-term reforms. Uzbekistan can be a role model at international level in this regard.