Uzbekistan’s Ravshan Irmatov has been named as the Best Referee of Asia of last 25 years in line with the ranking of International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
IFFHS published the rating of the World's best Referee of the Quarter of a Century (1987-2011). The best Asian referee of the last four years Ravshan Irmatov claimed the 28th place in the ranking.
This result allowed Irmatov to claime the first place in Asia, ahead of Ali Mohamed Bujsaim from the United Arab Emirates.

Exhibition of Romanian photo-artist Teodor Radu Pantea’s works was organized in cooperation with Academy of Arts and embassy of Romania in the Tashkent House of Photography.
Representatives of the ministries and departments, the creative organizations, scientists-critics, artists and students took part in the opening ceremony of the event.
The exhibitions, international biennials, festivals held by the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan in cooperation with a number of creative organizations, promote demonstration of our achievements in the years of independence in various spheres.

A series of events, directed at popularizing unique direction of the Uzbek classic music – shashmaqom – has been held in New York, United States.
The organizers of the Shashmaqam Forever Festival are Fund Forum, Consulate General of Uzbekistan in New York, American Center of Traditional Music and Dance, Congress of the Bukharian Jews of the United States and Canada.
Uzbek maqom masters gave concerts at the prestigious scenes of the US – Carnegie Hall. An international scientific-practical conference “Shahmaqom in the 21st century” was also held.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan and political risk guarantee totaling up to $400 million to help build the largest-ever petrochemical plant in Uzbekistan.

An Uzbek-German Architecture-Construction Center, which will provide Master courses “Preserving buildings and constructions, cities and historic monuments”, started its work under the Tashkent Architecture-Construction Institute.

The concert program with the participation of German opera conductor David Koulman and pupil of the Republican Specialized Musical Academic Lyceum named after Victor Uspenskiy Laylo Rikhsiyeva and the National symphonic orchestra collective of Uzbekistan was presented at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.
Fund Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Culture and Sports together with a number of creative and public organizations successfully realize set of the creative projects directed on the development of musical taste and abilities of young generation.

Lukoil expanding projects in Uzbekistan
Russia’s petroleum giant Lukoil has acquired a stake of Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali Overseas in the Aral project in Uzbekistan.

Gross domestic product (GDP) of Uzbekistan increased by 8.3% in 2011, a January report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development “Regional Economic Prospects in EBRD Countries of Operations” said.
The EBRD specialists underlined that economy of Uzbekistan grew by 8.3% in 2011 compared to 8.5% in 2010. Earlier, in its October report, the EBRD forecasted that Uzbekistan will post 7.5% GDP growth in 2011.
The bank said that higher commodity export prices and remittances, FDI and export demand helped Uzbekistan to achieve high economic growth.

His Excellency
Mr Yoshihiko Noda,
Prime Minister of Japan
Your Excellency,
Please accept my sincere congratulations and heartfelt wishes on the occasion of twentieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and Japan.
The interaction between Uzbekistan and Japan has ages-old roots that go back to the Great Silk Road, and history has preserved numerous unique facts of humanitarian and trade exchange, of interpenetration of our cultures, traditions and customs.

Microcreditbank open joint stock commercial bank issued loans for 288.6 billion soums to small businesses in 2011, of which 159.7 billion soums were preferential loans.
The volume of microfinancing services, rendered small businesses and private entrepreneurship, grew by 1.3 times year-on-year. This allowed to create 104,500 new jobs.
The volume of microloans, issued as starting capital to businesses, grew by 1.6 times year-on-year in 2011 and reached 22.8 billion soums.