HE UN Special Advocate on the Prevention of Corruption Dr. Ali bin Fetais al-Marri stressed that Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award achieves one of the most important goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — Goal 16.
HE al-Marri added that there cannot be sustainable development in the world in the presence of corruption, stressing that corruption is the prime nemesis of development. Responding to a question on the significance of co-operation, whether at the bilateral or collective level between countries in the issue of combating corruption, HE al-Marri said that corruption is a crime, and with the world turning into a small village, crime has by its nature become cross-border, which calls for an agreement between countries that perpetrators would not get away with it. Corruption crimes are punishable, and there must be agreements between countries to extradite those accused in corruption cases.
Regarding the efforts of Uzbekistan which resulted in holding the award ceremony for Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award in it this year, he indicated that Uzbekistan was among the places chosen to hold the award, being a recently independent country — as it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1992 — and the efforts made by Uzbekistan in anti-corruption were studied.
HE al-Marri pointed out that Uzbekistan advanced 5 points in the Corruption Perceptions Index, achieved progress in the World Bank's rates for combating corruption, organised successive campaigns against corruption in the country, and established an Anti-Corruption Agency through an independent and strong ministry that operates according to clear laws.
He pointed out that all these efforts should have been appreciated, adding that a candle should be lit in this country to tell them that there are those who support you in the issues of fighting corruption, whether in the international community such as Qatar or at the level of international organizations such as the UN.
On the relationship between corruption and development, he stressed that corruption is the prime nemesis of development, explaining that a country like Singapore, for example, with a population of 4mn people, was, during the rule of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, a country without resources, and only an old English port. Within a few years, Singapore became the third most powerful economy in the world, thanks to the fight against corruption.
Concerning what distinguishes Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award this year, HE UN Special Advocate on the Prevention of Corruption Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri underscored that the Award is held for the first time in Central Asia, in a recently independent country, and is consistent with the great efforts made by Uzbekistan in the fight against corruption.
