Our People > Sadokat Jalolova

Sadokat Jalolova

Journalist

Jalolova has worked as a reporter for some time in local newspapers and websites in Uzbekistan, and has enriched her knowledge in the field of journalism through courses at the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Amsterdam on the Coursera platform.

Articles

Nuclear power

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Coordinate on Nuclear Plant Safety

Uzbekistan is building its first nuclear power plant and preparing a second, while Kazakhstan intends to build at least three. Central Asia’s two largest economies are entering nuclear power at almost the same time. Even before their first reactors come online, the two countries are beginning to coordinate on safety and environmental monitoring, including potential transboundary impacts. On August 21, representatives of the two countries met in Tashkent and agreed on the main areas of further cooperation, including a road map and follow-up steps. The meeting came four days after a new announcement by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. On August 17, he said preparations were under way for a second nuclear power plant, although the country’s first nuclear complex in the Jizzakh region is only at the initial stage of construction. The location, capacity, timetable, and technology partner for the new plant have yet to be announced. Uzbekistan’s nuclear project has expanded considerably over the past two years. In 2024, Tashkent and Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom agreed to build a small nuclear power plant with six 55 MW RITM-200N reactors. The configuration was later revised to an integrated plant in the Forish district of the Jizzakh region, comprising two large VVER-1000 units and two small RITM-200N reactors. The complex will have a total capacity of about 2.1 GW. Construction formally began on June 4, 2026, when concrete was poured for the first reactor unit. A technical launch of the first small reactor is planned for late 2029, while the first large unit is expected to begin operating in 2033. The entire complex is expected to be operational by 2035. Official projections of annual generation range from about 15.4 billion to 17.2 billion kWh. Rapidly growing electricity demand is driving discussion of a second plant. Uzbekistan needs more generating capacity as industry and new urban projects grow and the population approaches 40 million. Natural gas remains the backbone of power generation, but the government is also expanding solar and wind energy. Nuclear power is intended to provide baseload electricity around the clock, regardless of weather conditions. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer and has the world’s second-largest uranium reserves, but it currently has no operating commercial nuclear power reactors. In a nationwide referendum in October 2024, voters approved the construction of a nuclear power plant. The country’s first plant is planned near the village of Ulken on the shore of Lake Balkhash, with Rosatom selected to lead the international consortium for the project. A nuclear industry development strategy approved in April 2026 calls for Kazakhstan to have at least three nuclear power plants by 2050. It also covers nuclear science and workforce training, along with the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. China National Nuclear Corporation has been selected to build Kazakhstan’s second plant; in July 2025, Roman Sklyar, then the country’s first deputy prime minister, said China would also build the third. The April 2026 strategy is less specific, however, and lists small modular...

7 hours ago

Bilateral Cooperation

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan Target $1 Billion in Trade as Investment and Transit Links Expand

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030, as economic ties expand from a relatively low base into vehicle manufacturing, oil and gas, investment, and transport across the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to Uzbekistan on August 23–24 added new projects to that list. The two presidents signed a Treaty on Eternal Friendship and a program aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030. Political relations, meanwhile, have been moving faster than economic ties. In 2023, the two countries established the Supreme Interstate Council, and a year later they signed a Treaty on Allied Relations. The latest trip was Aliyev’s third state visit to Uzbekistan in five years and his seventh visit overall. Aliyev said ahead of his trip to Tashkent that bilateral trade more than tripled in 2025 to reach $795 million. Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms, however, reported a much lower total of $307.3 million for the same year. Neither side has explained the discrepancy, which may reflect different definitions of trade. Sustaining growth toward the $1 billion target will require broader trade and more joint production, including goods aimed at markets beyond the two countries. From Trade to Investment The Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company is intended to help turn some of these plans into operating businesses. Established in 2023 with $500 million in capital, the company finances projects in both countries. Some areas of cooperation have already reached the production stage. Azerbaijan’s Azermash CP works with Uzbek manufacturers to produce Chevrolet and Isuzu vehicles in Azerbaijan. By July, more than 10,700 Chevrolet vehicles and 275 Isuzu buses had been produced. More than 130 commercial entities with Uzbek investment are registered in Azerbaijan. During the latest visit, the two sides opened a gypsum plant. They also laid foundations for five SOCAR filling stations and a silver-ore enrichment plant. For Baku, the interest in Uzbekistan is understandable. With a population of more than 38 million, Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous country. The Uzbek economy is growing rapidly, while the authorities are opening more sectors to private and foreign capital. For Azerbaijani companies, this offers access to a market considerably larger than their own as well as a foothold in Central Asia. For Tashkent, Azerbaijan offers investment and expertise in the oil and gas sector. SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state oil company, has been operating in Uzbekistan for years. A joint venture between Uzbekistan’s O‘ZLITINEFTGAZ and the Azerbaijani company’s research institute has been operating since 2016. Cooperation is now gradually moving from engineering services toward much larger exploration and potential production projects. The main project is on the Ustyurt Plateau in western Uzbekistan. BP joined the project in May 2026 with a 40% stake, while SOCAR, which is the operator, and Uzbekneftegaz each hold 30%. Total investment could reach around $2 billion if commercially viable reserves are found and the project proceeds to development. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the project envisages extensive seismic...

1 day ago

Nuclear Energy

Uzbekistan Plans Second Nuclear Power Plant Before First Is Ready

Uzbekistan will soon begin preparations for the construction of a second nuclear power plant (NPP), President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced during an August 17 visit to Khorezm region. The announcement came a little more than two months after construction officially began on the country’s first NPP. The authorities have not yet disclosed where the new plant will be located or how much capacity it will have. They have also not named a technology partner. Discussing energy in connection with new industrial projects, Mirziyoyev said investors need an acceptable electricity price and a guarantee of uninterrupted supply. Uzbekistan is building its first NPP with the participation of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom. On June 4, first concrete was poured for the foundation of the first unit of the integrated NPP in Farish district, Jizzakh region, officially marking the start of construction. Mirziyoyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the project by video link. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi also participated in the ceremony. The project itself has changed considerably over the past two years. In 2024, Uzbekistan and Russia agreed to build a small nuclear power plant with six RITM-200N reactors, each with a capacity of 55 MW. Tashkent later decided to combine small modular and large-scale nuclear generation at a single site. Under the current configuration, the Jizzakh project will have two large VVER-1000 units and two small RITM-200N units. The complex will have a total capacity of 2.11 GW and is expected to generate about 15.4 billion kWh of electricity annually. The first small reactor is expected to come online in 2029. The first large unit could begin operating in 2033, with the entire complex expected to be commissioned by 2035. Plans for a second NPP come as electricity demand is rising rapidly. Uzbekistan’s 2020–2030 electricity plan aimed to raise annual generation from 63.6 billion kWh to 120.8 billion kWh by 2030. A more recent government forecast puts electricity consumption at 121 billion kWh by 2035. Some of the growing demand is expected to be met by solar and wind power. Nuclear energy is intended to provide baseload generation, including for industry. Mirziyoyev specifically linked preparations for the second plant to investors’ need for a stable electricity supply. Uzbekistan is therefore expanding its nuclear program before its first reactor has entered operation. The country is continuing to develop the infrastructure and expertise needed for the new industry. Following a June review, the IAEA said Uzbekistan had made significant progress but needed to complete work on its nuclear regulatory body and finalize feasibility studies. So far, Mirziyoyev has said only that preparations for the second NPP will begin. Its cost, timetable, capacity, and technology have not been announced, nor has a potential contractor been named. The first NPP involves long-term cooperation with Russia’s nuclear industry. Rosatom is participating in the project, which will use its reactor technology. Mirziyoyev said in June that Uzbekistan planned further nuclear power projects with Russia, but whether the same model will be used for the second plant or Tashkent will consider...

4 days ago

Language Policy

Uzbekistan’s Alphabet Reform Revives a 33-Year-Old Debate

Uzbekistan began switching from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet in 1993 and initially planned to complete the transition by 2000. Nearly 33 years later, both scripts are still widely used, and the country is preparing to revise its Latin alphabet again. On July 7, the lower house of Uzbekistan’s parliament approved a bill introducing a new version of the alphabet, with 28 letters and one apostrophe instead of the current 26 letters and three letter combinations, and sent it to the Senate. Literary scholar Dilbar Khaydarova told The Times of Central Asia that a reform originally intended to take seven years has stretched across a generation. She attributes the delay mainly to an inconsistent transition, with schools moving faster than publishers and much of the government. “After 30 or 31 years, these small corrections have prompted another reform,” she said. A Reform That Stretched Across Decades Uzbekistan adopted the law introducing a Latin-based alphabet in 1993. Schools were to use the new script first, while adults were expected to have opportunities to study it at workplaces and institutions. The transition was initially due to be completed by 2000. In 1995, the deadline was extended to 2005 and later postponed to 2010. The original alphabet was revised in 1995, when sh and ch were adopted and ng was listed separately. That revision also introduced the forms o‘ and g‘, establishing an alphabet of 26 letters and three letter combinations. Two Alphabets for One Country Schools switched to Latin, while Cyrillic remained common in government and the publishing industry. The media also continued using the script for years, and the Soviet-educated generation remained active in public institutions after 1993. As a result, children learned to write in Latin but continued to encounter Cyrillic in publications and official documents. The same script remained in use when they entered the workplace. “Even if we became literate in Latin, we also developed the ability to read and write in Cyrillic,” Khaydarova said. “Because the situation required it.” She describes this as the coexistence of “two policies or practices that did not correspond to each other.” This mismatch, she believes, largely explains why the transition has lasted for decades. That pattern persists, with some major publications using Latin while others continue publishing in Cyrillic. Khaydarova says the difference does not necessarily reflect opposition to the reform because publishers must consider their audiences’ habits. The Cost of the New Alphabet Implementing the revised alphabet will involve costs beyond school textbooks. Since 1993, Uzbekistan has accumulated a vast body of material in both Cyrillic and the current version of Latin. For publishers, this raises questions about whether existing publications should be converted to the revised script and who will pay for the work. “If they lose a significant share of their audience, there will be serious financial risks in the future,” Khaydarova said. Khaydarova believes the state will have to bear some of the cost by supporting publishers that convert existing materials to the revised script. “The more sources of...

5 days ago

Cybersecurity

Uzbekistan’s Cerberus Wins Road to TechCrunch Regional Final

Uzbek startup Cerberus has won the regional final of Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026, earning a ticket to San Francisco. For Uzbekistan’s young technology industry, the result is another sign of its push beyond the domestic market. For Cerberus, the challenge is now to convince international investors and clients that an AI tool developed in Tashkent to find vulnerabilities can compete in the global cybersecurity market. Cerberus took first place in the regional final on August 12. WeGlobal AI finished second, followed by LOOQ. Twenty-two startups reached the final after being selected from 726 applications from 39 countries. Uzbekistan was represented by six projects. The three winners will represent Central Eurasia at Startup Battlefield 200 in San Francisco. TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will run from October 13 to 15. Twenty of the 200 companies will be selected to pitch on the main stage, with five advancing to the final round to compete for the $100,000 equity-free grand prize and the Disrupt Cup. The three regional winners will share a $100,000 investment pool, with Cerberus receiving $50,000. Competition rules state that each investment will be made on standard market terms in exchange for equity. Astana Hub Ventures and IT Park Ventures are providing the funding in partnership with Silkroad Innovation Hub. According to the organizers, the winners will also receive a combined $100,000 in OpenAI API credits. Cerberus founder and CEO Aziz Akhmedkhodjaev told The Times of Central Asia that two factors were behind the company’s success: the product and the team’s ability to explain the problem it solves. “I would say there are two main things here. The first, of course, is the product. Everyone understood that we had created something the market really needs,” he said. “I think that was the key to winning. I didn’t spend a single second of the pitch on anything other than clearly explaining the problem, how the solution works, and its potential.” Cerberus describes its product as an AI-powered cybersecurity system capable of finding vulnerabilities in corporate applications and IT infrastructure. Demand for such tools is growing alongside the spread of generative AI: companies and individual developers can write software faster, but the volume of code that needs to be checked for errors and potential attack vectors is also increasing. “Literally everyone is writing code with artificial intelligence now. Vulnerabilities, coding errors, and other weaknesses are appearing much faster,” Akhmedkhodjaev said. The company says Cerberus allows users to give its AI agent access to an application or IT infrastructure and task it with finding vulnerabilities. The agent can also test authentication and perform other security checks. According to Akhmedkhodjaev, however, using a general-purpose AI model for such work can itself create risks. “If you give Claude or another AI access to a vulnerability in a real bank, even the smallest mistake can lead to serious financial losses,” he said. The company says Cerberus is designed to restrict what its AI agent can do after identifying a weakness. “In our project, there is a...

6 days ago

Birth Trends

Births Decline in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as Central Asian Trends Diverge

Central Asia is commonly seen as a region with a young and rapidly growing population. The region’s population is still expanding, but birth trends are beginning to diverge. In the first half of 2026, births fell noticeably in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan recorded modest increases. Excluding Turkmenistan, about 711,300 children were born in the four other Central Asian countries during the six-month period, 5.5% fewer than a year earlier. Uzbek economist Mirkomil Kholboev highlighted the differences between the countries after comparing national statistics. “Births are declining in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while they are increasing in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan,” Kholboev noted. Uzbekistan recorded the largest decline, with the number of births falling 7.9% to 373,389. Of those, about 192,900 were boys and 180,500 were girls. The decline is not new. In 2025, about 879,600 children were born in Uzbekistan, 5.1% fewer than a year earlier. That has not prevented the country’s population from continuing to grow rapidly, reaching 38.2 million at the beginning of 2026. The Times of Central Asia previously examined why Uzbekistan’s population continues to expand even as the number of births declines. A similar picture is emerging in Kazakhstan. A total of 149,774 births were registered from January through June, down 7.1% from the same period last year. Kazakhstan’s population nevertheless continues to grow and reached 20.59 million by July 1. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are moving in the opposite direction for now. Kyrgyzstan recorded about 66,300 births in the first half of the year, up 2% from a year earlier. In Tajikistan, 121,810 children were born, an increase of 0.9%. The divergence is also notable in the wider post-Soviet context. Births have declined in Armenia and Azerbaijan as well. In Ukraine, 73,292 children were born in the first half of 2026, 16% fewer than during the same period a year earlier. Russia has sharply restricted the publication of demographic statistics since 2025, making current comparisons more difficult, although the last available figures also showed births continuing to decline. For Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the current figures do not mean their populations are shrinking. Births still substantially outnumber deaths, leaving both countries with strong natural population growth despite the decline in births. If these differences persist, their effects will extend well beyond demographic statistics. For a region with rapidly growing cities and large young populations, they could eventually mean different levels of demand for schools and universities. They could also affect labor markets and the number of new workers entering the economies of the four countries.

1 week ago

Drone Attack

Nizhnekamsk Drone Attack: Families of Uzbek Victims to Receive Compensation

The families of Uzbek citizens killed in the August 10 drone attack on Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region will receive compensation from the regional authorities. The attack killed 13 people, including eight Uzbek citizens who had been working in the city as construction workers. The family of each person killed will receive 2 million rubles, about $23,500, from the Tatarstan government. Payments will also be made to those injured, with the amount depending on the severity of their injuries. Tatarstan’s regional government will pay 2 million rubles to the family of each person killed. The companies that employed the victims will also pay compensation to their families and to injured workers. A temporary accommodation center has also been opened for residents whose homes require major repairs, and claims for property damage are being accepted there. According to updated figures from the Tatarstan authorities, 78 people sought medical assistance following the attack, with 27 hospitalized. Nizhnekamsk lies about 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine and is one of Russia’s major industrial centers, home to the TANECO oil refinery. Russian authorities said both industrial facilities and residential areas were hit and have opened a criminal investigation. Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces had struck the TANECO refinery and caused a fire. Uzbek authorities initially reported that seven citizens had been killed, before raising the figure to eight. One Tajik citizen was also among those killed. On August 12, the bodies of the eight deceased Uzbek citizens were repatriated. Officials in Tashkent said they were coordinating with their Russian counterparts to assist Uzbek citizens who remained hospitalized. For Uzbekistan, the Nizhnekamsk tragedy is another reminder of the risks faced by labor migrants in Russia. Large numbers of Central Asians work in major Russian industrial centers, while the expanding geographic reach of drone attacks is increasingly affecting cities far from the Russia-Ukraine front.

1 week ago

Public health

Nearly Two-Thirds of Adults in Uzbekistan Are Overweight or Obese

Nearly two-thirds of adults in Uzbekistan are overweight or obese. According to the latest World Health Organization data, the figure reached 64% in 2024, one of the highest rates among former Soviet republics. The WHO Global Health Observatory data, published by Our World in Data, cover adults aged 18 and older with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher. The figures are age-standardized to allow comparisons between countries. Among former Soviet republics, only Georgia has a higher rate, at 67%. The figure is 63% in Azerbaijan, 61% in Moldova, 59% in Latvia, and 58% in both Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The rate is around 56% in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Estonia. It stands at 55% in Belarus and 54% in Lithuania. Uzbekistan is also well above the global average. According to WHO, 43% of adults worldwide were overweight in 2022. This figure includes adults with obesity. WHO defines overweight among adults as a BMI of 25 or higher, while obesity begins at a BMI of 30. WHO classifies obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease rather than simply a consequence of lifestyle. Body weight is influenced by diet, physical activity, genetics, and neurobiology. Access to healthy food also plays a role, as do market forces and the surrounding environment. A high BMI increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes and is also linked to several types of cancer. Several years ago, Mavludakhon Hamzayevna Adhamjonova, a member of the Legislative Chamber, cited the results of a national study that found 10.7 million people in the country did not follow a healthy lifestyle. Among those surveyed, 38% had high blood pressure and 8.4% had elevated blood sugar. A further 26% did not get enough physical activity. Rising levels of overweight and obesity also carry an economic cost. In 2023, Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms, citing estimates by the World Obesity Federation, reported that the annual economic impact of overweight and obesity in Uzbekistan could reach $21.6 billion by 2060. That would amount to about $490 per person and 4.7% of projected GDP.

2 weeks ago

Historical Archives

Berlin Archive Reveals Rare Records of Uzbekistan’s Past

A centuries-old archive in Berlin holds documents on Central Asia from two pivotal periods: the Russian Empire’s expansion into Turkestan in the second half of the 19th century and the first decades of Soviet rule. The materials include diplomatic correspondence and German accounts of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway. Other papers concern Soviet policies toward nomadic communities and a student from Tashkent who lived in Germany in the early 1930s. The materials are held by the Prussian Secret State Archives (Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, GStA PK) in Berlin. Muhayyo Isakova, a senior researcher at the National Archive of Uzbekistan, identified documents concerning present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring territories. Despite its name, GStA PK is a public archive. Its origins date to the 13th century, and it has occupied its purpose-built home in Berlin’s Dahlem district since 1924. One of the earliest groups of documents dates to 1865, when the Russian Empire was expanding into Central Asia. Russian forces captured Tashkent in June of that year. In 1867, the city became the capital of the newly established Turkestan Governor-Generalship. The archive preserves official correspondence involving Karl Hermann von Thile, then an undersecretary in the Prussian Foreign Ministry.. The documents describe political developments in Turkestan and related diplomatic affairs, offering a Prussian perspective on Russia’s expansion into Central Asia. Other materials date from the early Soviet period. German publicist and researcher Georg Cleinow traveled through Central Asia in 1928 and 1929. He visited Tashkent and Bukhara before continuing through Semirechye to Alma-Ata. Cleinow paid particular attention to the Turkestan-Siberian Railway, a major infrastructure project of the early Soviet period. His reports addressed the railway’s geopolitical significance and Soviet policies to settle nomadic communities. They also covered land and water reforms and national-territorial delimitation. Cleinow later examined the railway in his book Roter Imperialismus: Eine Studie über die Verkehrsprobleme der Sowjetunion, published in Berlin by Julius Springer in 1931. Two sections deal directly with the railway, including Die Turksib als soziales Experiment (The Turksib as a Social Experiment). The papers of German Orientalist Carl Heinrich Becker, who was Prussia’s minister of culture, contain correspondence about Vali Kayum Khan, a Tashkent native who came to Germany to study in 1922. One letter, dated March 30, 1933, was written by Becker’s son Walter shortly after his father’s death. It says Kayum Khan had previously received Becker’s support but was left in serious financial difficulty after the Nazis came to power. Walter Becker sought funding for Kayum Khan and explored how he might continue his education outside Germany. The letter mentions an appeal to Stephen Duggan, a founder of the Institute of International Education, for help arranging further study in the United States. Kayum Khan’s activities during World War II make the 1933 letter especially notable: he worked with Nazi Germany and led the United States Turkestan Committee. The correspondence offers a little-known view of Central Asia’s connections with German academic circles in the 1920s and 1930s. Alongside the 19th-century diplomatic reports, Cleinow’s papers show how German officials and researchers viewed the region during two different...

2 weeks ago

Direct Flights

Etihad Flights to Uzbekistan Begin Daily as Almaty Service Moves to 2027

Etihad Airways has launched daily service between Abu Dhabi and Tashkent, adding Uzbekistan to its operated network. A direct service to Almaty that had been scheduled for March 2026 is now expected in 2027. Etihad's inaugural outbound flight departed Abu Dhabi on August 9 and arrived in Tashkent early on August 10. The return flight left later that morning, and the route is operated with an Airbus A320. Etihad senior vice president Jurriaan Pieter Stelder told The Times of Central Asia that the airline had studied Uzbekistan's aviation market for several years before entering it. He said the growth of local airlines and established business demand led Etihad to begin with a higher frequency than it might use in other new markets. Etihad expects the route to perform in line with its network, which recorded an average passenger load factor of 89.7% in the first two months of 2026. Stelder said the carrier expects to fill at least 140 of roughly 160 seats on each leg. The route is supported by a codeshare agreement with Uzbekistan Airways that took effect in May. Etihad customers can buy a single ticket through Tashkent to eight domestic destinations, while Uzbekistan Airways passengers can connect to Abu Dhabi on the Etihad service. The partnership allows Etihad to test demand for Samarkand through Uzbekistan Airways. “We know there is particularly strong demand for Samarkand,” Stelder said. He added that Etihad could eventually operate another route in Uzbekistan if the market grows. Commercial ties between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have grown rapidly, including through civil aviation cooperation. In January 2025, the two governments set targets to increase bilateral trade by a factor of ten by 2030 and raise the bilateral investment portfolio to $50 billion. Etihad Chief Digital Officer Frank Meyer said the relationship already supports business travel, while tourism demand needs further development. He added that Etihad would hire local staff for airport operations and sales, while local contractors would handle ground services. Etihad already reaches Kazakhstan through a codeshare with Air Astana. The agreement allows customers to book Air Astana-operated connections through Almaty and Astana. Etihad announced plans for its own Almaty route in July 2025, with eight weekly flights scheduled from March 16, 2026. The launch did not take place, but Stelder said the carrier had not abandoned the destination. “We expect to start flying to Kazakhstan, specifically Almaty, sometime in 2027,” he said. “For now, we decided it was better to start with Tashkent.”

2 weeks ago

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