On November 21, 2014, President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, the current chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Didier Burkhalter is to pay visit to Uzbekistan.

The program of the visit - a meeting with the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, which will be discussed the status and prospects of Uzbek-Swiss relations, issues of cooperation in the framework of the OSCE, relevant regional and international issues.

Uzbekistan's exports to China amounted to 360 MMcm in September, according to Chinese customs data. This represents steady growth over 2014 and a 56.52% increase year on year.

Kazakhstan exported 30 MMcm to China in September, a significant jump from 10 MMcm in the same month of 2013. Kazakh exports to China started in July 2013 and have remained reasonably stable since then.

Astana has embarked on a programme to increase gas distribution in the country, which burns large amounts of coal, but progress has been slow. Kazakhstan produced 31.52 bcm of gas between January and September 2014, a 1.9% increase year on year. Dry gas production increased by 4.4% to 15.61 bcm and associated gas production remained level at 15.92 bcm, according to the Kazakh State Agency for Statistics.

Turkmenistan sent 2.38 bcm to Chinese customers in September 2014, almost equal to the 2.39 bcm sent in September 2013. Turkmenistan remains the largest pipeline gas exporter to China - it exported 24.78 bcm to the country in 2013, according to Chinese customs data.

Neighbouring Azerbaijan, which has a focus on exports to the West, is planning to significantly increase production. Baku forecasts gas production in the country will be 30.20 bcm in 2018, an increase of 6.3% compared with 2014, a government representative told Interfax. Production will be 29.55 bcm in 2016 and 29.92 bcm in 2017. First gas from Phase 2 of the flagship Shah Deniz project is expected in 2018, with exports to Georgia and Turkey. Total gas exports are expected to be 16 bcm after exports to Europe start in 2019.

Azerbaijan produced 29.45 bcm of gas in 2013. Production in 2014-2015 is expected to decrease slightly to 28.42 bcm. Baku is looking to increase gas production to alleviate the effects of declining oil production. Azerbaijan produced 43.16 mt in 2013 and output is expected to be 41.65 mt in 2014 and 40.31 mt in 2018.

Uzbekistan will take measures to create 261,600 jobs and employ 725,900 people in 2015, as provided by the program to create jobs and provide employment, approved by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (Uzbek Parliament) Nov.13.

Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Aziz Abdukhakimov, who presented the draft program to the senators, said that in general, it is planned to employ 987.500 people in 2015. Special attention will be given to the employment of graduates of educational institutions, women, the disabled and other groups in need of social support.

"The purpose of the program is implementation of complex and interrelated measures for employment by harnessing the potential of areas and sectors of the economy, the rational use of labor resources, taking into account demographic factors," said the minister.

Forecast parameters to create jobs and provide employment for 2015 are aimed at improving the territorial structure of employment, providing the balance of demand and supply of labor on the labor market taking into account the development of areas, the service sector, diversified farms.

The program is designed to create the required number of jobs and provide employment to the population at the expense of the introduction of new facilities, modernization, upgrading and fuller utilization of existing production capacities, accelerated development of small businesses, capacity building of home-based forms of labor.

As a result of the implementation of regional programs to create jobs and employment in 2013 about 970,000 people were employed, more than 60.3 percent of which in the countryside. In 2014, it is planned to employ more than 975,000 people.