On February 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals for developing new lands for agriculture. As a result of irrigation and land reclamation efforts over the past five years, 826.5 thousand hectares of land have been brought into agricultural circulation. Of these, 409 thousand hectares were irrigated lands, while a further 418 thousand hectares were developed
The published draft of the updated “Uzbekistan-2030” Strategy revises energy sector indicators. The document significantly reduces natural gas production plans for the next five years, Tashkent Today reported. The new target for 2030 has been set at 38.7 billion cubic meters, 37% less than the 62 billion cubic meter plan approved in September 2023. From
Late in January, over 200 participants in the STEM field – 100 in each country – participated in a mentored event called the Act in Space Hackathon. This year for the first time in Central Asia, the European Union (EU) through the Connectivity for Central Asia (C4CA) program organized the national editions in Kazakhstan and
At the beginning of 2026, Uzbekistan ranked 75th out of 137 countries in terms of the average IQ, according to the International IQ Test portal. The country’s average IQ is 96.51, Tashkent Today reported. This represents a drop in the ranking compared to 2025, when Uzbekistan ranked 69th. Among the Central Asian countries, the rankings
The last ethnic Karakalpak with Uzbek citizenship who was facing possible extradition to Uzbekistan has left Kazakhstan for a Western country, according to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law. Karakalpak activist Rasul Zhumaniyazov was detained in Astana last March at the request of Uzbekistan. Zhumaniyazov had received offers from Tashkent
On February 5, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held narrow-format talks and the first meeting of the bilateral High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Islamabad. Mirziyoyev arrived in Pakistan on a state visit. By the end of last year, the volume of mutual trade reached nearly 500 million US dollars. Around
On February 4-5, Bishkek is hosting the B5+1 Forum, bringing together officials and business leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the United States to explore investment opportunities and deepen economic ties, RFE/RL reported. Among the forum’s most visible participants is US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Ambassador Sergio Gor, who told
The phenomenon of “Uzbek-style Onlyfans,” where women earn money by sending erotic photos and videos in exchange for money transfers, is actively discussed on Uzbek social media. According to users, dozens of accounts with explicit avatars offering such content appear daily in Telegram groups, Tashkent Today reports. The scheme is simple: for a certain amount
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, says it is investing in Uzbekistan’s East Can Solutions to develop the country’s first greenfield aluminum can production facility. Based in Tashkent, the plant will supply leading beverage producers with fully recyclable metal packaging to strengthen domestic supply, meet rising market demand, and reduce
For the first time since the pandemic, fewer than 900,000 births were registered in Uzbekistan: 879,600 children were born in 2025, 46,800 fewer than the previous year, marking the second consecutive decline in the birth rate, according to Tashkent Today. The number of deaths reached 177,100, exceeding the pandemic year. The number of marriages fell
On February 3, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a government meeting on the effective use of water resources and the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture. Currently, the area of irrigated land in Uzbekistan where water-saving technologies are applied has reached 2.6 million hectares, accounting for 60 percent of the total irrigated area. For comparison, before
South Korea may suspend the issuance of visas for Uzbekistan citizens if the share of illegal migrants reaches 10%, according to Alisher Abdusalomov, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to South Korea, Tashkent Today reported. Currently, 9% of Uzbek citizens in Korea stay there illegally. The Ambassador emphasized that many Uzbeks who arrive in Korea for study
In 2025 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested almost US$2 billion (€1.72 billion) through 120 projects in Central Asia and Mongolia. Uzbekistan was the leading recipient of EBRD funding in 2025 for the sixth year running (over US$ 1 billion, or €880 million). The EBRD provided almost US$ 440 million (€378 million) for
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released a new report, The Eurasian Region and Partner Countries in Asia: Analysis of Investment Flows. The report focuses on mutual investments between 13 countries of the Eurasian region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) and partner countries in Asia (Afghanistan,
In 2025, trade between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan amounted to $4.97 billion, an 11.4% increase compared to the previous year. This was announced during a January 30 meeting between Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov and Kazakh Ambassador to Uzbekistan Beibut Atamkulov. The parties discussed the current state and future prospects of trade,
The World Health Organization (WHO) has clarified media reports saying that Uzbekistan has lost its measles-free status, and explained that measles transmission has resumed in the country since 2019, while rubella elimination status remains in place, Daryo reports. WHO’s conclusions are based on evaluations by the European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination,
Uzbekistan has been officially recognized by the organization ASIA Records as the Asian country with the most UNESCO-listed Islamic historic cities, according to the Uzbek Tourism Committee. Representatives of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Malaysia took part in the award ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur. Under this recognition, Samarkand,
The fourth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held in Ankara on January 29 under the co-chairmanship of President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The parties emphasized that mutual trade volumes, as well as the number of joint ventures and projects with leading Turkish companies, continue to
From March 20 to 25, 2026, the international tourist train Jibek Joly will connect Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan as part of a single cultural and educational route. For the first time in the project’s history, the route has been extended to Dushanbe, according to Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ). The journey will
An event was held on January 28 at Riga International Airport to mark the launch of cargo flights by the Uzbek airline Flykhiva on the Tashkent–Riga route, Dunyo information agency reported. As part of the event, a ceremonial reception was held for the airline’s first cargo plane arriving in the Latvian capital. The event was
