The Fifth Tashkent Anti-Corruption Forum took place in Uzbekistan on October 23, bringing together more than 250 government officials, civil society representatives and international experts from across the globe to foster dialogue and cooperation in combating corruption. The Forum’s theme — “From Discussions to Real Change” — reflects Uzbekistan’s ongoing commitment to translating anti-corruption initiatives into tangible results, the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan reported.
Organised under the auspices of the National Council on Anti-Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the support of international partners including the European Union (EU), GIZ, OECD, OSCE, UNDP, and the U.S. Department of State, the event’s goal was to highlight innovative tools, policies and partnerships that strengthen integrity and transparency.
The plenary session featured opening remarks from Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the National Council on Anti-Corruption, and Akmal Burkhanov, Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, who emphasized Uzbekistan’s reform efforts and commitment to integrity. They were joined by representatives of the EU, GIZ, UNDP, OECD, OSCE, and the U.S., who acknowledged progress made by Uzbekistan and outlined key challenges in areas including public procurement, conflict of interest, asset declaration and whistleblower protection. They also underlined the importance of civil society and a free press in the fight against corruption and reaffirmed their commitment to support Uzbekistan on its reform path.
The thematic sessions aimed to foster expert exchange and policy dialogue and focus on three indispensable pillars of any successful public sector reform including corruption prevention – modern instruments, effective procedures and skilled human resources. The first session highlighted the ever-increasing importance of artificial in the fight again corruption, presenting international experience and Uzbekistan’s plans. The second session accentuated the role of compliance control as a tool of corruption prevention in the public and private sector, providing international best practices to further improve compliance mechanisms in Uzbekistan. The third session was focused on the most important element – the capacity of public servants to use the tools and implement the procedures in their daily work, highlighting targeted anti-corruption education and training.
