Uzbekistan, COVID-19 and severe floods: the fight against the crisis in Central Asia transformed into an opportunity

While the whole of humanity is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, some regions such as the Americas, which are at the centre of the health crisis in the world at the moment; other areas of the world, such as Europe, are slowly beginning to implement decontamination measures. But what is the current situation in parts of the world that are perhaps furthest from the news in the West on a day-to-day basis? Today we will look at the situation in Uzbekistan. The Central Asian country is courageously facing up to the critical situation the world is facing. The epidemiological situation is stabilising. The number of recoveries is growing every day, as are the people coming out of quarantine. As a result, out of 2,204 patients infected with the coronavirus, 1,454, or 66 per cent, have fully recovered. Eighty-three per cent of those who remained in quarantine have now returned home. The positive dynamic is evident. All the necessary measures are being taken to treat 740 patients still in the hospitals, to restore their health and for them to return home.  

The country has also invested heavily in alleviating the health crisis (2.25 trillion som, the local currency) from the Anti-Crisis Fund and $500 million from international financial institutions.

President Shavrat Miziryoyev, taking into account that the epidemiological situation has improved, has decreed measures for the gradual reduction of the quarantine regime in the Uzbek economy. These measures will undoubtedly benefit the entire population, especially businessmen and farmers.

In this context of a health crisis, Uzbekistan has also had to deal with unexpected flooding. In this complex framework, the country has had to respond to a serious natural disaster that occurred on 28 April in the Bukhara region, especially in the Alatsk and Karakul districts. More than 38,000 houses were damaged, as well as 847 social facilities and crops throughout the region. Serious damage was caused to agriculture, production, services and infrastructure. A government commission was set up and is working around the clock. To date, the roofs of 70 per cent of social facilities and 20 per cent of homes have been restored. In addition, 5,000 kilometres of power lines and 1,100 transformers were repaired and the power supply was restored for 286,000 residents. Private homes are also being repaired.

However, the impact of the disaster also affected the Sardoba reservoir in the Syr Darya region; some 90,000 people in 24 districts of Sardoba, Akaltyn and Mirzaabad were immediately evacuated to safe areas. They all have basic needs, food, clothing and other items. The government commission is working to eliminate the consequences and investigate the causes of the flooding.

President Miziryoyev announced in a speech on 5 May that no one in the country would be left behind as a result of these unexpected disasters and that there would be "an objective, impartial and thorough investigation of the flood incident" with the help of international experts and accountability if any. "Those responsible will be held accountable before the law," he said. In addition, all hydroelectric facilities and dams that may be subject to erosion due to heavy rains are being inspected.

Some towns in the neighbouring Maktaaral district of Turkestan region, already in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, were also flooded. In this connection, Uzbekistan regrets that the disaster has also had an impact on the territory of its neighbouring country, Kazakhstan. The Presidents of both countries, Shavrat Miziryoyev and Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, held a telephone conversation on the matter. A partnership will be established between the two to jointly address the fight against the disaster: "The President of Kazakhstan, the esteemed Kasym-Jomart Tokayev and I, in a spirit of mutual understanding and openness, discussed this issue during a telephone conversation".

On 8 May, the delegation, headed by the Akim of the Turkestan region Umirzak Shukeyev, visited the scene and examined the situation in detail. Uzbekistan also expressed its readiness "to provide our Kazakh brothers with all necessary assistance in dealing with the consequences of the disaster (...) in the belief that together with our people we will overcome these difficulties in a united and friendly manner".

Without doubt, this natural disaster will also be a test for relations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which should be seen as an opportunity for cooperation between the two countries, for example by creating a joint crisis response unit. This fact, as well as the COVID-19 crisis, may provide the Central Asian countries with an opportunity to work on different issues in a coordinated manner, creating mechanisms that will give rise to more integrated tools, which in the future could lead to an area of prosperity, peace and cooperation for their respective peoples.