Uzbekistan’s ambassador, Dilshod Akhatov has announced that his country will undertake a referendum on April 30 on the new constitution which will be “much more comprehensive, much more practical and human-centric”. To achieve this, the country’s Constitutional Commission has studied over 400 international documents and the constitutions of more than 190 countries, including India.

In a conversation with our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Ambassador Dilshod talked about India’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO Presidency and highlighted that “Indian chairmanship is very, very intensive and active” and Uzbek delegations will be participating in upcoming SCO Defence and foreign minister meet in India.

The SCO Defence Ministers meeting will take place in the last week of this month in Delhi and foreign ministers in the first of next month in Goa. Uzbekistan was the previous chair of the grouping and handed over the presidency to India last year.

Responding to a query on the referendum on the updated Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan to be held on April 30, Akhatov said, “The new updated constitution will be much more comprehensive, much more practical and human-centric constitution.”

Talking about framing the new constitution, he said, “We studied our Constitutional Commission, we studied and explored more than 400 international documents and the constitution of about 190 countries, including India of course.”

“Uzbekistan will be a democratic, social country. It is related to the human-centric approach of the leadership of Uzbekistan and many, many other norms also, in terms of human rights, the strengthening of human rights, freedoms of the people of Uzbekistan, regarding the state, the strengthening of Parliament, changing of the legal system of Uzbekistan, judiciary system of Uzbekistan, and so on,” he said.

When asked what hopes did he have of the Indian Presidency of the SCO, Akhatov said, “The Indian chairmanship is very, very intensive and active.”

“We are working with our Indian friends very intensively within the framework of the chairmanship of India at the SCO. For example, our Indian friends continue to implement all the agreements reached during the SCO summit in Samarkand, the ‘Samarkand spirit’.”

“We are looking forward to continuing our effective and very useful and productive cooperation with our Indian friend within the chairmanship of SCO,” he said.

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