OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan discusses new steps of co-operation with Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations

On 23 July 2021, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) Pierre von Arx, met with Erkin Mukhitdinov, First Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan. They discussed ongoing projects and the potential for future co-operation with the Ministry and the Agency for External Labour Migration under the Ministry as the key project partner of the PCUz.

Mukhitdinov expressed his gratitude for a number of significant accomplishments made in the framework of joint projects such as the Comprehensive Research on Labour Migration Policies and Practices in Uzbekistan and Countries of Destination; Equipping the Newly Established Pre-departure Training Centre for Labour Migrants; Conducted capacity-building training course to help re-integrate returning labour migrants; Supporting the Development of an Online Consultation Platform to name but a few.

Von Arx expressed his appreciation for the support of Mukhitdinov as a valuable contributor for the successful implementation of PCUz projects. Von Arx informed Mukhitdinov on the viability of a new extrabudgetary project in support of labour migration of women and economic reintegration of women labour migrants.

The PCUz has been developing a large number of projects to support the improvement of labour migration policies in Uzbekistan after the new leadership recognized labour migration as an economic phenomenon.