Uzbekistan Airways joins SkyTeam

Oct 17, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- NWA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- ?- The first stage of negotiations between Uzbekistan Airways and SkyTeam Airline Alliance was held in Tashkent. The main purpose of the meeting is the entry of Uzbekistan Airways into the global airline alliance.

SkyTeam, the global airline alliance partnering eleven members ? including Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, Continental Airlines, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines ? and three associate carriers ? Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways ? sets itself apart by offering an exclusive experience for all passengers. Two more airlines - Middle East Airlines and Tarom - plan to join the alliance.

During 2008-2009, at the proposal of Korean Air, the national airline of Uzbekistan will join the SkyTeam Airline Alliance. This will create new possibilities for Uzbekistan Airways, and allow for its further integration into the international air transportation system.

?From Heart to Heart?

On October 1, an event was held in Bishkek entitled ?From Heart to Heart?, organized by Age Net Central Asia without limits. The group currently consists of 35 organizations from seven countries of the world, including Great Britain, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Georgia. In attendance were Labor and Social Development Ministry officials, Kyrgyz parliament deputies, diplomats, tourists, and Kyrgyz citizens. In addition, representatives of international organizations such as UNFPA, UNICEF, UNICEM, UNV, EC-UNDP, OSCE, JICA, INTRAC were in attendance.

A fair of hand made goods took place on Erkindik Avenue. It featured hand-made goods, including knitted garments, nacre jewelries, numerous souvenirs made of wood, bone, fabrics, and different foods produced by senior citizens.

According to Eppu Mikkonen-Jeanneret, regional manager of Central Asian social programs, elderly people have equal rights according to the General Human Rights Declaration, including the right to social services. ?In developed countries, retirees lead independent lifestyles and their needs are realized by society and are provided for. The retirees from many CIS countries, particularly in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, cannot even afford adequate food,? she said.

Utomkhan Abdullayeva, the Labor and Social Development Minister, said, ?Beginning in 1999, there was an increase in the amount of pension being provided by the government. Despite that fact, the country has seen a considerable increase in poverty amongst its senior citizens.?

Researchers from the Third Age Institute questioned 310 Bishkek retirees between the ages of 57 and 98 years of age. Their answers revealed a surprisingly interesting version of their life story. For example, it revealed the approximate amount of food that they were able to consume. It showed that they were only able to obtain the very cheapest of foods. During a one month period, the typical respondent was able to buy 1 loaf of bread, 1 bottle of cotton seed oil, between .5 and 1 kilos of meet, .5 kilos of sugar, .5 kilos of rise, .5 kilos of buckwheat, .5 kilos of noodles, .5 kilos of lure, 2 eggs, .5 kilos of curds, 2 liters of milk, and 1 kilo of apples!

Igor Litvinov, director of the Third Age Institute program said, ?Experts estimate, and social surveys show, that our society treats ?third age? people as though they have no needs, refusing them many opportunities to better themselves. Present methods of government wage calculations are far from being perfect, and the allocations for some foodstuffs are set too low. Experts believe that the world is getting older; by 2050 the number of sixty year-old people will exceed the number of the fourteen year-olds.?

Ninety one year-old Taisiya Churkina owns a house and lives off a 1,200 som per month pension. After she pays for public utilities, she has only 431 som remaining for food. This leaves hardly enough money for medicine, detergents and transportation. She stated that, because of her miserable pension, she can?t even afford to heat her home properly, and the temperature in her home remains very low.

Seventy year-old widow Alina Golovchenko, who lives in a private house, has a so-called ?high? pension, a measly 1,600 som a month. She even has a 30 percent gas benefit. However, after she pays for the all of her public utilities, she has only 24 som for living!

Retirees are different people, having one problem of surviving. With so few jobs available to retirees, those who can move are forced to work low paying and unwanted jobs, or to run so called ?small businesses?, which typically includes selling old things, selling cigarettes, and delivering bottles. However, these businesses produce transport costs, and compensation by the government is enough for only 5-8 buss trips a month.

?This fair reminds us that every State needs to care for their retired citizens ? they deserve our respect and support!? said German citizen Edward Muller.

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