The training of public and private sector executives and civil servants in priority areas to be determined;
Cooperation between educational establishments and between educational establishments and firms;
Mobility for teachers, graduates, administrators, young scientists and researchers, and young people;
Promoting teaching in the field of European Studies within the appropriate institutions;
Teaching Community languages;
Post-graduate training of conference interpreters;
Training of journalists;
Training of trainers.
3. The possible participation of one Party in the respective programmes in the field of education and training of the other Party could be considered in accordance with their respective procedures and, where appropriate, institutional frameworks and plans of cooperation will then be established building on participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Community's Tempus programme.
Article 52. Agriculture and the Agro-industrial Sector
The purpose of cooperation in this area shall be the pursuance of agrarian reform, the modernisation, privatisation and restructuring of agriculture, the agro-industrial and service sectors in the Republic of Uzbekistan, development of domestic and foreign markets for Uzbek products, in conditions that ensure the protection of the environment, taking into account the necessity to improve security of food supply as well as the development of agri-business, the processing and distribution of agricultural products. The Parties shall also aim at the gradual approximation of Uzbek standards to Community technical regulations concerning industrial and agricultural food products including sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Article 53. Energy
1. Cooperation shall take place within the principles of the market economy and the European Energy Charter, against a background of the progressive integration of the energy markets in Europe.
2. Cooperation shall concentrate, inter alia, upon the formulation and development of energy policy. It shall include among others the following areas:
Improvement in management and regulation of the energy sector in line with a market economy;
Improvement of energy supply, including security of supply, in an economic and environmentally sound manner;
Promotion of energy saving and energy efficiency and implementation of the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and related environmental aspects;
Modernisation of energy infrastructures;
Improvement of energy technologies in supply and end use across the range of energy types;
Management and technical training in the energy sector;
Transportation and transit of energy materials and products;
The introduction of the range of institutional, legal, fiscal and other conditions necessary to encourage increased energy trade and investment;
Development of hydro-electric and other renewable energy resources.
3. The Parties shall exchange relevant information relating to investment projects in the energy sector, in particular concerning the production of energy resources and the construction and refurbishing of oil and gas pipelines or other means of transporting energy products. The Parties attach particular importance to cooperation regarding investments in the energy sector and the manner in which these are regulated. They shall cooperate with a view to implementing as efficaciously as possible the provisions of Title IV and of Article 46, in respect of investments in the energy sector.
Article 54. Environment and Human Health
1. Bearing in mind the European Energy Charter, the Declarations of the Lucerne Conference of 1993 and of the Sofia Conference of October 1995, and taking into account the Energy Charter Treaty, and especially its Article 19, and the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and related environmental aspects, the Parties shall develop and strengthen their cooperation on environment and human health.
2. Cooperation shall aim at combating the deterioration of the environment and in particular:
Effective monitoring of pollution levels and assessment of the environment; system of information on the state of the environment,
Combating local, regional and transboundary air and water pollution,
Ecological restoration,
Sustainable, efficient and environmentally effective production and use of energy,
Safety of industrial plants,
Classification and safe handling of chemicals,
Water quality,
Waste reduction, recycling and safe disposal, implementation of the Basle Convention,
The environmental impact of agriculture, soil erosion, and chemical pollution,
The protection of forests,
The conservation of biodiversity, protected areas and sustainable use and management of biological resources,
Land-use planning, including construction and urban planning,
Use of economic and fiscal instruments,
Global climate change,
Environmental education and awareness,
Implementation of the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a transboundary context.
3. Cooperation shall take place particularly through:
Disaster planning and other emergency situations:
Exchange of information and experts, including information and experts dealing with the transfer of clean technologies and the safe and environmentally sound use of biotechnologies:
Joint research activities:
Improvement of laws towards Community standards;
Cooperation at regional level, including cooperation within the framework of the European Environment Agency, and at international level;
Development of strategies, particularly with regard to global and climatic issues and also with a view to achieving sustainable development;
Environmental impact studies.
4. The Parties shall seek to develop their cooperation on
Questions of human health, in particular through technical
Assistance on the prevention and combating of infectious
Diseases and the protection of mothers and young children.
Article 55. Transport
The Parties shall develop and strengthen their cooperation in the field of transport.
This cooperation shall, inter alia, aim at restructuring and modernising transport systems and networks in the Republic of Uzbekistan; developing and ensuring, where appropriate, compatibility of transportation systems in the context of achieving a more global transport system; and identifying and elaborating priority projects and seeking to attract investment for their implementation.
The cooperation shall include, inter alia:
The modernisation of management and operations of road transport, railways, ports, airports and urban passenger transport systems,
Modernisation and development of railways, waterways, roads, ports, airports and air navigation infrastructure including the modernisation of major routes of common interest and the trans-European links for the above modes, particularly those related to the Traceca project,
Promotion and development of multi-modal transport,
The promotion of joint research and development programmes,
Preparation of the legislative and institutional framework for policy development and implementation including privatisation of the transport sector.
Article 56. Postal Services and Telecommunications
Within their respective powers and competences the Parties shall expand and strengthen cooperation in the following areas:
The establishment of policies and guidelines for the development of the telecommunications sector and postal services;
Development of principles of a tariff policy and marketing in telecommunications and postal services;
Transferring technology and know how, including on European Technical standards and certification systems;
Encouraging the development of projects for telecommunications and postal services and attracting investment;
Enhancing efficiency and quality of the provision of telecommunications and postal services, amongst others through liberalisation of activities of sub-sectors;
Advanced application of telecommunications, notably in the area of electronic funds transfer;
Management of telecommunications networks and their optimisation;
An appropriate regulatory basis for the provision of telecommunications and postal services and for the use of the radio frequency spectrum;
Training in the field of telecommunications and postal services for operations in market conditions.
Article 57. Financial Services and Fiscal Institutions
1. Cooperation shall in particular aim at facilitating the involvement of the Republic of Uzbekistan in universally accepted systems of mutual settlements. Technical assistance shall focus on:
The development of a stock market and a securities market,
The development of banking services, the development of a common market of credit resources, the involvement of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a universally accepted system of mutual settlements,
The development of insurance services, which would, inter alia, create a favourable framework for Community companies' participation in the establishment of joint ventures in the insurance sector in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the development of export credit insurance.
This cooperation shall in particular contribute to foster the development of relations between the Parties in the financial services sector.
2. The Parties shall cooperate in developing the fiscal system and fiscal institutions in the Republic of Uzbekistan. This cooperation shall include the exchange of information and experience on fiscal matters and the training of personnel involved in the formulation and implementation of fiscal policy.
Article 58. Enterprise Restructuring and Privatisation
Recognising that privatisation is of fundamental importance to a sustainable economic recovery, the Parties agree to cooperate in the development of the necessary institutional, legal and methodological framework. Particular attention will be paid to the orderly and transparent nature of the privatisation process.
Technical assistance shall focus on, inter alia:
The further development of an institutional base within the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to assist with defining and managing the privatisation process;
The further development of the privatisation strategy of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including the legislative framework, and implementation mechanisms;
Furthering market approaches to land use and ownership, and the privatisation of land;
The restructuring of those enterprises not yet ready for privatisation;
The development of private enterprise, particularly in the small and medium enterprise sector;
The development of investment privatisation funds systems.
The objective of this cooperation is also to contribute to the promotion of Community investment in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Article 59. Regional Development
1. The Parties shall strengthen cooperation on regional development and land-use planning.
2. To this end, the Parties shall encourage the exchange of information by national, regional and local authorities on regional and land-use planning policy and on methods of formulation of regional policies with special emphasis on the development of disadvantaged areas.
They shall also encourage direct contacts between the respective regions and public organisations responsible for regional development planning with the aim, inter alia, to exchange methods and ways of fostering regional development.
Article 60. Social Cooperation
1. With regard to health and safety, the Parties shall develop cooperation between them with the aim of improving the level of protection of the health and safety of workers.
The cooperation shall include notably:
Education and training on health and safety issues with specific attention to high risk sectors of activity,
Development and promotion of preventive measures to combat work related diseases and other work related ailments,
Prevention of major accident hazards and the management of toxic chemicals,
Research to develop the knowledge base in relation to working environment and the health and safety of workers.
2. With regard to employment, the cooperation shall include notably technical assistance to:
Optimisation of the labour market,
Modernisation of the job-finding and consulting services,
Planning and management of the restructuring programmes,
Encouragement of local employment development,
Exchange of information on the programmes of flexible employment, including those stimulating self-employment and promoting entrepreneurship.
3. The Parties shall pay special attention to cooperation in the sphere of social protection which, inter alia, shall include cooperation in planning and implementing social protection reforms in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
These reforms shall aim to develop in the Republic of Uzbekistan methods of protection intrinsic to market economies and shall comprise all forms of social protection.
Article 61. Tourism
The Parties shall increase and develop cooperation between them, which shall include:
Facilitating the tourist trade,
Increasing the flow of information,
Transferring know-how,
Studying the opportunities for joint operations,
Cooperation between official tourism bodies, including the preparation of promotional material,
Training for tourism development.
Article 62. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
1. The Parties shall aim to develop and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their associations and cooperation between SMEs in the Community and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
2. Cooperation shall include technical assistance, in particular in the following areas:
The development of a legislative framework for SMEs;
The development of an appropriate infrastructure to support SMEs; to promote communication between SMEs both within Uzbekistan and further afield; and to train SMEs in the skills necessary to access funding;
Training in the areas of marketing, accounting and control of the quality of products.
Article 63. Information and Communication
The Parties shall support the development of modem methods of information handling, including the media, and stimulate the effective mutual exchange of information. Priority shall be given to programmes aimed at providing the general public with basic information about the Community and the Republic of Uzbekistan, including, where possible, access to databases, in full respect of intellectual property rights..
Article 64. Consumer Protection
The Parties will enter into close cooperation aimed at achieving compatibility between their systems of consumer protection. This cooperation. may include the exchange of information on legislative work and institutional reform, establishment of permanent systems of mutual information on dangerous products, the improvement of information provided to consumers especially on prices, characteristics of products and services offered, the development of exchanges between the consumer interest representatives, and increasing the compatibility of consumer protection policies, and the organisation of seminars and training periods.
Article 65. Customs
1. The aim of cooperation shall be to guarantee compliance with all the provisions scheduled for adoption in connection with trade and fair trade and to achieve the approximation of the Republic of Uzbekistan's customs system to that of the Community.
2. Cooperation shall include the following in particular:
The exchange of information;
The improvement of working methods;
The introduction of the Combined Nomenclature and the single administrative document;
The interconnection between the transit systems of the Community and the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Simplification of inspections and formalities in respect of the carriage of goods;
Support for the introduction of modern customs information systems;
The organisation of seminars and training periods.
Technical assistance shall be provided where necessary.
3. Without prejudice to further cooperation foreseen in this Agreement and in particular Title VIII, mutual assistance in customs matters between administrative authorities of the Parties shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol attached to this Agreement.
Article 66. Statistical Cooperation
Cooperation in this area shall have as its aim the development of an efficient statistical system to provide the reliable statistics needed to support and monitor the process of economic reform and contribute to the development of private enterprise in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Parties, in particular, shall cooperate in the following fields;
Adaptation of the Uzbek statistical system to international methods, standards and classification;
Exchange of statistical information;
Provision of necessary statistical macro-and microeconomic information to implement and manage economic reforms.
The Community shall contribute to this end by rendering technical assistance to the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Article 67. Economics
The Parties shall facilitate the process of economic reform and the coordination of economic policies by cooperating to improve understanding of the fundamentals of their respective economies and the design and implementation of economic policy in market economies. To this end, the Parties shall exchange information on macroeconomic performance and prospects.