To the participants of the United Nations Public Service Forum

I express special gratitude to His Excellency the UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres for supporting our initiative to hold the forum in the city of Samarkand, located at the crossroads of world civilizations.

I take this opportunity to congratulate you all on Public Service Day, widely celebrated throughout the world on June 23 at the initiative of the UN.

As you know, today the world is facing global problems, such as the intensification of political conflicts that impede sustainable development, climate change, shortage of natural and human resources, cyber threats.

I am convinced that the current international forum, dedicated to the theme "Five years to 2030: Accelerating the delivery of public services for a sustainable future", will serve to improve the system of public administration and civil service, which plays an important role in global development, bring it to a new level that meets the requirements of the time, increase the potential of personnel and the effectiveness of their activities, strengthen international cooperation in the field.

The traditional forum is attended by about 400 delegates from the United Nations, other authoritative international structures, states from different continents and regions of the world, which also clearly demonstrates its high status.

Dear forum participants!

Today, more than ever, the exchange of best practices in promoting the digital transformation of public administration, the use of innovative solutions in the provision of public services, a radical increase in the effectiveness of public sector institutions, the development of leadership styles in management, the expansion of continuous education and the definition of the skills needed by future leaders is becoming more relevant.

I would like to emphasize that the New Uzbekistan, which is increasingly opening up to the world, following the path of accelerated reforms, widely applying advanced international experience, firmly follows the principle of "the state is for the people" and is becoming an integral part of global changes in the sphere of civil service.

In recent years, systemic reforms have been carried out in Uzbekistan to transform the civil service into a truly inclusive public service. In particular, the Law "On the State Civil Service" was prepared jointly with international experts.

In order for our reforms to reach every home, a system of work in the context of mahallas has been introduced, the institution of targeted support and social protection has been strengthened, the share of women in public administration has reached 35 percent, in this area our country has taken a leading place in the region. More than 700 public services are provided through online platforms based on the "single window" principle.

As a result of the complete digitalization of civil service and management processes, Uzbekistan has risen 24 positions in the United Nations global ranking of "e-government" development over the past year, as well as 17 positions in the international artificial intelligence readiness index.

In order to organize the state civil service based on new approaches, we have created a cluster for training personnel to attract talented specialists who meet modern requirements and to form a professional corps of civil servants.

To increase institutional capacity and support investment in human capital based on international experience, the use of endowment opportunities is being introduced. In this regard, we call on you to support our global initiatives to create a Global Knowledge Center for Digital Transformation of the Civil Service and an International School of Young Leaders in Uzbekistan.

These initiatives open up great opportunities for activating exchanges between governments, innovators and development partners, educating future generations of civil servants, widely using digital tools in management and everyday life, and introducing innovations in the public sector.

I am confident that such important initiatives and proposals will be fully reflected in the Samarkand Declaration, which will be adopted within the framework of the forum, and this important document will become for all of us a kind of joint action program to achieve an inclusive, sustainable and people-oriented civil service.

I wish you all great success on this noble path and fruitful work of the forum.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan