“Islam Karimov was a very demanding person” – Rustam Azimov 

The article was published on UzA website.

Rustam Azimov stressed that over the past five years, Uzbekistan has been developing for the better.

“It was not easy to live up to these days, of course. When independence was declared, there were difficulties in the country, there was no grain in warehouses, there was no oil. There was no currency to buy these goods from foreign countries. In addition, there were terrorist acts in Tashkent, in Namangan and in other regions. When we remember this, we always think of the first president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov,” he said.

Rustam Azimov noted that he worked with Islam Karimov for 25 years.

“25 years of work under the leadership of the first president was a great school and a test for me. Islam Karimov was a very demanding person. First of all, he was demanding of himself, then he demanded from others,” he said.

The former Deputy PM stressed that Shavkat Mirziyoyev very correctly assessed the work of Islam Karimov.

“I would like to express one opinion. Currently, there are over 200 independent states in the world. But many of them are independent on paper. They depend on someone for military, economic and security issues. Their fates are decided in other capitals. Within 25 years, Uzbekistan has become truly independent,” he concluded.