On August 29, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov reviewed the constructive works underway in Tashkent.

Wide-ranging reforms and extensive creative works have been steadfast in Uzbekistan, resulting in the erection of new manufacturing enterprises, sporting and cultural as well as healthcare and education institutions, trade centers, housing and roads. Commissioning of such facilities on the eve of the dearest and the greatest holiday – Independence Day – has turned into a good tradition. This holds true also for this time, when we celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of our independence.

Thus, on August 29, the head of our state traveled downtown Tashkent to review some of those newly erected facilities.

The President came to the Cardiosurgery Complex of the Academician Vahidov National Specialized Surgery Center.

The cardinal reforms in healthcare system under the leadership of President Islam Karimov, further expansion of services offered in cardiology, elevation of effectiveness in prevention and diagnostics and medical culture, have been yielding remarkable outcomes. The establishment of this Cardiosurgery Complex is a bright manifestation of the successful implementation of government policy on transforming the healthcare system.

The perfection of public healthcare, formation of highly-qualified medical aid system built on advanced diagnostics and treatment methods constitute priority aspects of the socially oriented policy course pursued by Uzbekistan. This four-storey building center is outfitted with all different kinds of modern technologies and equipment in use around the globe in heart surgery.

The ground floor of the complex hosts an outpatients department for 200 people, a blood transfusion station, a reception, a conference hall and sections for personnel use.

The first floor boasts a department for treatment of children under 3 with congenital heart diseases; a department for intervention cardiology and heart arrhythmia, as well as angiography surgery rooms.

The second floor has a cardiosurgery ward department, a hemodialysis and transplantation section, a diagnostics lab and diagnostics rooms. A resuscitation unit and two surgery halls are located on the third floor of the complex.

President Islam Karimov drew particular attention to the significance of using cutting-edge medical technologies and equipment.

According to him, when installing the equipment designed for surgery, one should take into account its capacities and compliance with the requirements of times. We must bear in mind that the principal goal pursued by the current healthcare policy is the protection of human health and life. In order to bolster the surgery sphere, it is necessary to train such specialists and recurrently raise their proficiency level, ensure comprehensive mechanisms of stimulus for them, widely present the tremendous achievements being made in the Uzbek healthcare system to the international community, and boost cooperation with foreign partners.

Establishment of such centers and reconstruction of the existing ones, their equipment with state-of-the-art technologies have been facilitating further enhancement of medical services offered to the population and mastering high technologies in diagnostics and treatment. Wide-scale efforts undertaken at the National Specialized Surgery Center have included inpatient and outpatient consulting, diagnostics and treatment services provided annually for the nearly thirty-five thousand patients.

Unique surgeries are conducted on inventions developed at the Center. It is primarily the ones in reparative surgery of vital organs. Notably, the doctors conduct operations on patients with acute cardiac infarction, damaged renal vessels, abdominal cavity diseases and vascular pathologies. Microsurgery and cardiosurgery service has been put in place. Surgeries are performed both on the open heart and during its functioning, without the need for connection to artificial blood circulation.

The Center constitutes a clinic unique to Central Asia for surgical treatment of liver cirrhosis and its consequences.

The activities of this complex are a direct result of the healthcare reforms embarked on at the initiative of Islam Karimov. The presidential decree on “Major Aspects of Further Intensification of Reforms in Healthcare System and Its Development” signed September 19, 2007, has proved instrumental in bolstering the efforts on this front.

Later, the head of our state reviewed the children’s and youth soccer school under the Bunyodkor Football Complex.

The school was instituted with an objective of boosting up the Uzbek soccer and training football players – the future stars in this sport. It is designed to nurture gifted and promising footballers in the structural complex of FC Bunyodkor. The environment created here at this school is conducive for the pupils to grasp profound knowledge and skills.

The education at this premise is divided into three stages, namely, the primary, preparatory and advanced. Experienced professionals lead training and education here.

The school complex building comprises an administrative block, a dormitory, a gym, a swimming pool, recreation rooms for faculty and students, a school hall and other facilities.

The learning rooms are outfitted with PCs containing training programs, and they are connected to local net and have access to the internet. The bedrooms designed for two children boast all the available comfort. The systems for filling, heating, filtration and water drainage at the swimming pool are automated in full and equipped with modern hi-tech tools. A medical unit is to oversee the health of pupils.

The President noted that it is imperative to attach a special significance not merely to raising the sporting mastery of children and youngsters to be nurtured here, but also to enhancing their knowledge and skills in liberal arts. Special syllabi ought to be devised for this school in cooperation with other education institutions.

The extensive opportunities created in this establishment operational with cutting-edge sporting equipment and the lessons at high level built on advanced methodologies are expected to uplift the confidence of young footballers in their own potential, power and skills.

Then, President Islam Karimov traveled to Bunyodkor football stadium. Along with other types of sports, the development of soccer and fostering athletes in this sport with high mastery and professional skills is placed a particular emphasis in our country. In accordance with presidential resolution, “Additional Measures on Boosting Football in Uzbekistan” signed May 1, 2006, a fund was established to promote football in our country. The Fund’s current endeavors have included the work aimed at fostering children’s and teenage soccer, constructing new education and training facilities (notably, football pitches with artificial coating), consolidating the economic and technical capacities of soccer schools.

The January 19, 2011, resolution of the President on additional measures to further reinforce the economic and technical capacities and development of football in Uzbekistan for 2011-2013 has facilitated the expansion of scale of works on this front. In line with the defined tasks, new stadiums are being erected in the country and the existing ones are being reconstructed, wide-ranging efforts are underway to furnish the children’s and youth soccer schools with latest sporting equipment, to improve the system of training highly qualified coaches and referees. Erected with state-of-the-art technologies and requirements, Bunyodkor football stadium has become another bright manifestation of the creative endeavors in progress in Uzbekistan.

The 34 thousand-seat grandstands of the stadium are divided into lower and upper tiers. There is also a special section for the disabled.

Uzbekistan’s leader inquired in particular into issues of providing for safety and security of spectators and their fan culture.

According to President Islam Karimov, we are the descendants of great thinkers and scholars who made an immense input into the development of world civilization, and we are a people with a rich culture and high spiritual values. These fine qualities of our nation should be manifest also during soccer matches and other sporting competitions held in these kinds of stadiums. Irrespective of the football club you are into, you ought to display mutual respect and higher cultural attitude. Thus, the leaders of Uzbekistan Football Federation and football clubs as well as other specialists should carry out extensive explanatory work. In a word, the culture of fans is to be encouraged up to a higher level in our country.

The conveniences at the Bunyodkor stadium for athletes and fans meet the latest requirements. In particular, the ground floor hosts rooms for footballers, refs, coaches, football administrators, as well as a press conference hall and a museum of the football club. Three restaurants and a fitness center are there on the first floor.

A special attention is paid to the engineering patterns of the stadium. The two video illuminated indicator boards (11m to 7.5m) allow the spectators to watch the game in complete resolution.

Islam Karimov had a conversation with a group of young footballers on the pitch, and enquired into their dreams. Then he presented them with gifts.

Thanks to independence, we have gained an opportunity to erect these kinds of marvelous facilities. This makes all of us happy, President Karimov said.

The new soccer complex, which had been hard to imagine of before, has become a good gift to our people for the Independence Day.

A practical embodiment of opportunities granted by national independence, a bright expression of the great creative abilities of our people, such wide-scale constructive works directed at boosting sports and public healthcare will help cherish a comprehensively advanced generation and provide for prosperity of the nation. (Press service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan)