On August 20, 2021, a new page was created in the history of New Uzbekistan. On the same day, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held an open dialogue with entrepreneurs of our country. This is the first meeting of this type, which was attended by about ten thousand entrepreneurs.

Commenting on this historic meeting, the head of our state said: "Today we decided to meet with you face to face for the first time in a completely new format - in the form of an open dialogue and talk in detail about problems and issues in business."

Why was such a high-level meeting organized, what was the need for it, personally met with entrepreneurs, small businesses and private entrepreneurs with the participation of the head of state, and organized such a dialogue on issues related to the industry? It is no secret that the Coronavirus infection recorded in China in the early days of 2020 has reached the level of a pandemic around the world, dealing a huge blow not only to the social but also to the economic development of almost all countries. All international financial institutions have been announcing this for a year. It is a historical fact that Uzbekistan is achieving further stabilization of the economy and increasing economic efficiency at a time when a number of leading countries are taking measures to maintain their economies.

Achieving such results does not happen by itself. Today, small business and private entrepreneurship are the priorities of our economy. In the last five years, about 2,000 laws, decrees and resolutions have been adopted to develop the industry. According to them, 114 licenses and permits were revoked, 33 activities were transferred to the notification procedure. Permit procedures have been simplified and their deadlines have been reduced by an average of two times. Excessive checks, cash, currency and raw material restrictions have been lifted. As a result of such conveniences and opportunities, the number of new subjects is growing rapidly, and the existing ones are expanding. The number of entrepreneurs has almost tripled in the last five years. Many entrepreneurs have expanded their businesses across the country, creating thousands of jobs and becoming reputable large companies. An entrepreneurial class with its own reputation and brand has begun to emerge in the domestic and foreign markets. The head of our state mentioned some of such courageous and selfless entrepreneurs and thanked them for their support of our people.

It is known that before this open dialogue, the problems of entrepreneurs were asked. There were more than 15,000 appeals on various issues. In his speech, the President outlined seven key areas for addressing them. The first direction - business financing, the second - improving the tax system and reducing the tax burden on business, the third - land allocation, the fourth - infrastructure, the fifth - support for exporting enterprises, the sixth - transport and logistics, the seventh - the order in the industry - focused on the simplification of procedures.

The head of our state outlined the current tasks in each area and put forward new initiatives.

Entrepreneurs spoke at the meeting and shared their problems, suggestions and comments. They were discussed with the participation of network officials and governors.

The President proposed to make such an open dialogue a tradition and organize it every year, declaring August 20 as the "Day of Entrepreneurs" in our country. These proposals were widely supported.

Muxsin Tadjiyevich Khodjiyev

Rector of Gulistan State University, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor,

Deputy of the Syrdarya Regional Council of People's Deputies