Over the past eight years, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have taken several steps to strengthen their bilateral ties, elevating their cooperation into a strategic partnership. A key milestone in this process was the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2021, followed by a series of diplomatic, defense, andContinue Reading
Although Uzbekistan has effectively eliminated large-scale state-imposed forced labor in the cotton harvest, ongoing government influence over certain aspects of the country’s agricultural industry continues to generate exploitative conditions for farmers and pickers alike, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights argued in a new report. The report, covering the 2024Continue Reading
Uzbekistan hopes to finalize its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2026, bringing to a close a 31-year effort that envisions an open, competitive, and resilient economy. Following the WTO’s General Council meeting on February 18-19, Uzbekistan’s chief WTO negotiator Azizbek Urunov said that the WTO’s director general hadContinue Reading
President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan is scheduled to make a state visit to the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, on March 12-13. Rahmon’s visit this week to Kyrgyzstan comes in the wake of the settling of a final border agreement between the two countries and ahead of an expected trilateral summitContinue Reading
On March 3, Uzbekistan’s presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov announced that Aziz Tashpulatov, formerly head of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent, had been named the minister of internal affairs. A few hours later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs put out a statement that echoed Asadov’s announcement andContinue Reading
In early February, headlines in Uzbekistan proclaimed that 31 gold mining sites Navoi region had been auctioned off, with many claiming that the majority of the buyers were Chinese. As is often the case, there was a degree of nuance that got lost in the initial chatter. The public fixation,Continue Reading
On February 4, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order reimposing “maximum pressure” on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The anti-Iran campaign is intended to deprive the country of any financial gain, including oil exports, port operations, and ancillary industries. Under the order, the U.S.Continue Reading
The ongoing power struggle between the Kandahari and Kabuli factions of the Taliban has garnered significant attention in post-Soviet media spaces. This internal conflict, which could potentially lead to a shift in Afghanistan’s leadership, reveals the complex dynamics at play within the organization. Central to this struggle are the disagreementsContinue Reading
On February 19, news broke that Alisher Tursunov, widely known as Mubashshir Ahmad, was wanted by Uzbek law enforcement for allegedly establishing a banned organization (Article 244-2 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to “establishing, leading, or participating in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, or other prohibited organizations.”) He is theContinue Reading
On February 11, Transparency International, a global non-governmental organization that works to combat corruption and promote transparency, released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), revealing a decline for Uzbekistan – the first since 2012. The country’s score dropped from 33 out of 100 in 2023 to 32 in 2024, earningContinue Reading
