Uzbekistan - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 25 - 30 of 2108

Termez Dialogue 2026

Opinion: Indian Ambassador Says Shared Spiritual Legacy Reflects Indo-Uzbek Solidarity

TASHKENT, June 10, 2026 - Indian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Smita Pant used her official remarks at the Termez Dialogue 2026 to argue that connectivity between Central and South Asia cannot be judged by infrastructure alone. Roads, railways, ports, energy links, financial channels, and digital systems are essential. But durable cooperation also depends on confidence, cultural memory, and a willingness to treat sovereignty as a condition for partnership rather than an obstacle to it. The second meeting of the Termez Dialogue was held under the theme “Peace, Connectivity, and Resilience: Shaping the Foundation for Shared Prosperity.” It was organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, in partnership with CICA. The forum fits into a wider Uzbek diplomatic push to reconnect Central and South Asia through political dialogue, trade, transport, climate cooperation, and cultural exchange. Pant’s address stood out because it placed the human dimension of connectivity at the center of the discussion. The broader idea associated with the Termez platform was captured in the phrase: “Eurasia needs not lines of division, but spaces of trust.” For India and Uzbekistan, that argument has particular force. Their relationship is not only diplomatic. It rests on older movements of people, ideas, language, food, faith, scholarship, and trade. That history gives modern policy a deeper base. Central and South Asia are often discussed today through the language of corridors, transit costs, sanctions risk, and access to ports. Those questions are real. The International North-South Transport Corridor, Chabahar, air freight links, customs procedures, and digital payment systems all matter to India’s practical engagement with Central Asia. But the old routes that connected India, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and the wider Eurasian space carried more than goods. They also carried habits of coexistence. “Connectivity is not just material. It is not just about roads and rail. It is also cultural, spiritual, financial, and digital,” she said, reminding delegates that human relationships and shared values constitute the most resilient infrastructure of all. [caption id="attachment_50469" align="aligncenter" width="2508"] Indian Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Smita Pant. Photo: Embassy of India, Tashkent [/caption] This is not a decorative point. Central Asia’s geography makes connectivity a strategic necessity, but its history shows that routes endure only when they are trusted. The UN General Assembly resolution on strengthening connectivity between Central and South Asia gave international backing to this agenda in 2022. The harder question now is how to make that connectivity commercially viable, politically acceptable, and socially useful. Pant’s answer was to frame India’s approach around sustainability and sovereignty. “India's approach on connectivity is guided by a very simple mantra – it must be built on the bedrock of financial sustainability and local priorities and should not bypass ideas connected to national sovereignty and independence. India’s approach to connectivity dictates that relations must be transparent, fair and benefit the person on the ground,” she said. That line is important because connectivity projects can easily become abstract. Maps look clean from a...

TRIPP

The 43 Kilometers That Could Rewire Eurasia

The Caspian Policy Center’s Trans-Caspian Forum 2026 convened U.S. and regional officials at the National Press Club in Washington on June 10 for a discussion of peace, economic security, and durable partnerships. The forum framed a short Armenia-based link as part of a wider effort to turn the Middle Corridor into a working route for cargo, energy, data, and capital. The strategic dialogue was chaired by Dr. Eric Rudenshiold, CPC research director and senior fellow. Speakers included Aryeh Lightstone, Senior Advisor to the Board of Peace and to Ambassador Steve Witkoff; Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to Azerbaijan’s president and foreign-policy department head; Yerzhan Kazykhan, Kazakhstan’s presidential representative for U.S. negotiations; Javlon Vakhabov, deputy adviser to Uzbekistan’s president on foreign policy; and Edil Baisalov, Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the United States and presidential special envoy. The meeting came as Washington tries to turn the Armenia-Azerbaijan thaw, the C5+1 critical minerals agenda, and private-sector interest into routes that can move cargo, energy, data, and capital across the Caspian. The discussion cast the Middle Corridor as the main strategic alternative linking Central Asian production to western markets. The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) refers to a planned 43-kilometer link through southern Armenia’s Syunik province, near Meghri and the Arax River, that would connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave. With rail, road, energy, and digital infrastructure, TRIPP is intended to plug into the wider Trans-Caspian route from Central Asia through Azerbaijan and Türkiye to Europe. Aryeh Lightstone opened by placing connectivity inside the Trump administration’s peace and economic-security agenda. His remarks tied Armenia-Azerbaijan diplomacy, the Board of Peace, and the Abraham Accords to the claim that commerce can reinforce peace where standard diplomacy stalled. Lightstone shifted the subject from maps to execution. Customs, regulatory harmonization, digital trade platforms, border procedures, and bankable investment vehicles will decide whether the Middle Corridor becomes a reliable system, he said. His reference to a TRIPP Plus Enterprise Fund pointed to U.S. structures that can move from declarations to projects. Hikmet Hajiyev presented Azerbaijan as the hinge of that system. The Caspian, he argued, does not separate Azerbaijan from Central Asia, but unites them. His line that C5+1 was mathematics while the C6 was chemistry captured Baku’s framing. Azerbaijan is positioning itself as a logistical and strategic extension of Central Asia, connected through Turkic institutions, energy routes, rail, ports, aviation, and digital links. Hajiyev described the Middle Corridor as moving from a supplementary transit route into a strategic geoeconomic system, linking Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail capacity, Baku port, Nakhchivan, TRIPP, and the planned Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable with Kazakhstan. Ambassador Kazykhan presented Kazakhstan’s strategic value as something built over time and backed by material capacity, not diplomatic positioning alone. Kazakhstan is by far the region’s largest economy, with the IMF projecting 2026 GDP of about $360 billion. Kazykhan said more than 600 American companies operate in Kazakhstan and cumulative U.S. investment has surpassed $100 billion. Kazakhstan also supplies about 24% of U.S. uranium imports and has reserves or production capacity linked...

Recycling

Uzbekistan Draft Proposes Annual Fee for Vehicles Over 30 Years Old

A draft government resolution in Uzbekistan has proposed annual environmental compensation payments for owners of vehicles manufactured 30 or more years ago, as part of a wider plan to regulate end-of-life transport and expand vehicle recycling. The proposal has not yet been adopted. The draft document, titled “On Organizing the Utilization of Vehicles with Expired Service Life and Recycling of Their Components,” was released through official public consultation channels and outlines a phased approach to introducing scrappage and recycling mechanisms across the country. According to the proposal, from January 1, 2027, owners of passenger vehicles manufactured 30 or more years ago would be required to pay an annual environmental compensation fee equal to 30 times the base calculation value. At the current rate, that would amount to about 12.36 million Uzbek som, or approximately $1,033. The payment is described as a mechanism intended to offset environmental damage caused by older vehicles. The draft was prepared under Uzbekistan’s broader environmental and waste-management reforms, led by the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, which is responsible for policy coordination in the environmental sector. The initiative also involves the planned creation of a national system for collecting, evaluating, and recycling vehicles that have reached the end of their operational life. The recycling system would be introduced in stages. From 2026, it would cover M1 category vehicles, primarily passenger cars. From 2027, it would extend to M2, M3, N1, N2, and N3 categories, covering minibuses, buses, and freight vehicles. By 2030, the framework is expected to cover all types of wheeled transport. The proposed environmental compensation fee for vehicles 30 or more years old would begin separately on January 1, 2027. The draft also proposes restrictions on vehicles deemed environmentally harmful. From 2027, vehicles classified as environmentally harmful could face restrictions on re-registration and continued use, with exceptions for antique vehicles recognized under existing regulations. A central component of the proposal is the creation of a unified digital system to manage the process. The platform would be developed under the coordination of the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan together with the national waste-management and circular economy agency. The system is expected to integrate data from tax, customs, and public-service databases through Uzbekistan’s e-government infrastructure. Technical implementation support is planned to involve Uzinfocom, the state IT integrator responsible for digital government platforms. Under the proposed model, vehicle owners would first undergo a technical inspection and valuation process before transferring their vehicles for recycling. Operators and assessment companies would be selected through competitive tenders. Once approved, they would handle vehicle acceptance, dismantling, and material recovery, including metals, plastics, batteries, and glass components. Owners of scrapped vehicles could receive compensation in several forms, including direct cash payments, electronic vouchers for purchasing new vehicles at discounted prices, or other mechanisms defined under national legislation. The value of compensation would depend on the technical assessment of the vehicle. The draft also introduces incentives for recycling operators through a “green subsidy” system financed by recycling-related fees. These subsidies...

Iran

U.S.-Iran Framework Could Reopen Central Asia’s Southern Route

The United States and Iran said on June 15 that they had reached a framework to end their war, halt the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The sides said a memorandum of understanding could be signed on June 19 in Switzerland. The exact terms were not immediately known, with Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief left for later talks. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” Trump posted, on Truth Social, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Brent crude fell by more than 4% in early trading, and Asian stock markets advanced. Reuters later said shippers remained cautious after one LNG tanker passed through Hormuz on June 15. A reopened strait would not restore normal traffic immediately, with freight flows depending on mine clearance, insurance rules, port inspections, and shipping guidance for vessels entering the area. Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian state to publicly welcome the latest announcement. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev praised the political will of the parties, saying they had helped “restore trust and mutually acceptable solutions.” Azerbaijan also issued a supporting statement praising Pakistan’s mediation and saying further talks could support “lasting peace and stability.” Central Asian governments had previously welcomed the U.S.-Iran ceasefire in April, with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan calling for de-escalation and diplomacy. For Central Asia, oil prices are only part of the story. The larger question is whether de-escalation can reopen practical access to southern trade routes, ports, and markets beyond the Caspian. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the region has paid closer attention to alternatives to routes through Russia. Iran offers one of its shortest paths to the Gulf, the Indian Ocean, Türkiye, and India. But sanctions, banking risk, war insurance, and U.S. policy shifts have kept that path fragile. Chabahar is the clearest example. In May 2024, India signed a 10-year contract with Iran to develop and operate the port on the Gulf of Oman. India’s shipping minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, called Chabahar “a vital trade artery connecting India with Afghanistan and Central Asian Countries.” The port allows Indian cargo to reach Afghanistan and Central Asia without crossing Pakistan, and gives Central Asian exporters another route toward India and the Indian Ocean. The sanctions picture remains uncertain. On October 30, 2025, Washington granted India a six-month waiver that allowed operations at Chabahar to continue. No public replacement had been announced by June 15. The new framework could make another waiver easier to justify, but banks and insurers will wait for signed text, U.S. guidance, and proof that Hormuz and Iranian ports are safe. Reuters cited a senior Iranian official who said the draft framework included no new U.S. sanctions before a final deal, a temporary oil sanctions waiver, and the release of $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The same source said Iran would refrain from further enrichment and...

Central Asia + Japan

Japan Extends $229 Million Loan to Boost Energy Efficiency in Uzbekistan

Japan will lend Uzbekistan 36.8 billion yen, roughly $229 million, to cut energy waste in public buildings and industry, targeting two sectors that place heavy pressure on the country’s fuel and electricity systems. The financing was formalized on June 10 in Tashkent, where Japanese Ambassador Kenji Hirata and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov signed exchange notes for two projects under Japan’s yen-loan program, according to the Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan. The larger of the two projects, Energy Efficiency Improvement in Public Buildings, has a maximum value of 21.788 billion yen, about $136 million. A second project, Energy Efficiency Improvement in the Industrial Sector, is valued at up to 14.969 billion yen, about $93.4 million. Both loans carry an annual interest rate of 2.4% on the principal and 0.8% for consulting services. They will be repaid over 25 years, including a seven-year grace period. The financing is being provided on concessional and untied terms, allowing greater flexibility in procurement. The projects are aimed at lowering demand rather than adding new generating capacity. In practical terms, that means modernizing equipment and introducing energy-saving technologies in industrial and commercial operations, as well as in public buildings. The public-buildings component addresses one of the weaker points in Uzbekistan’s energy system. The country’s schools, preschools, hospitals and other state facilities are often expensive to heat and difficult to cool, particularly in buildings constructed during the Soviet period with little regard for energy efficiency. Previous World Bank work on Uzbekistan has identified public buildings from the 1970s and 1980s as poorly insulated and reliant on old boilers and water-heating systems with high energy intensity. The problem is visible in the country’s air as well as its energy bills. In winter, inefficient heating systems increase demand for fuel, while coal- and fuel-oil-based heating contributes to smog in cities such as Tashkent, alongside dust, traffic and industrial emissions. Energy-efficiency upgrades can reduce the fuel demand that worsens urban air pollution during cold weather. Uzbekistan remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels for its energy supply. The Japanese Embassy noted that the country’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product remain higher than global averages, making improvements in energy efficiency a national priority. The industrial component addresses another pressure point. Uzbekistan is trying to expand manufacturing and exports, but that ambition depends on a power system still dominated by fossil fuels and burdened by aging infrastructure. For Tashkent, cutting the energy used by factories and commercial enterprises is part of the same energy-security challenge as building new power plants or adding renewable capacity. The agreement also gives practical form to one of the priorities in the Tokyo Declaration adopted at the first Central Asia-Japan Summit in December 2025. The declaration identified “Green and Resilience” as one of three major areas for future cooperation between Japan and the five Central Asian states. The loans follow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Japan late last year, when Uzbek and Japanese...

Cancer Treatment

Uzbekistan Cancer Care Reforms to be Launched in 2027

Uzbekistan plans to overhaul cancer care from 2027, with reforms aimed at detecting tumors earlier and expanding palliative support for patients outside the country’s main medical centers. The National Cancer Control Program, developed with the participation of the World Health Organization and international experts, aims to bring oncology services closer to international standards while improving access to care in the regions. The proposals point to one of the central weaknesses in cancer care across much of the region: patients are often diagnosed late and forced to travel to major cities for specialist treatment. Two key metrics for the plan are firstly to increase targeted screening coverage for common cancers is to 60%, while the five-year survival rate among cancer patients is expected to increase from the current 35% to at least 45%. To achieve these goals, primary healthcare workers will receive additional training to identify early signs of cancer and ensure timely referrals to specialized medical institutions. That would put family doctors and local clinics at the center of the reform, rather than leaving patients to navigate the system only after symptoms have become harder to treat. The focus on primary care also fits a wider shift in Uzbekistan’s health policy. There is already a major effort to move more treatment and prevention work out of hospitals and into local clinics, with early intervention presented as a way to reduce pressure on specialist facilities. Officials also plan to establish rapid diagnostic pathways to shorten the time between initial examinations and confirmed diagnoses. Radiation therapy services will be also be modernized, with aging cobalt therapy equipment gradually replaced with modern linear accelerators. The equipment upgrades follow other recent moves to expand Uzbekistan’s specialist cancer infrastructure. TCA reported earlier this year that a Nuclear Medicine Center under construction in Tashkent is expected to be equipped with PET/CT scanners, a cyclotron, a radiopharmaceutical laboratory, and Gamma Knife and CyberKnife systems. A significant part of the reform package concerns palliative and hospice care. Beginning September 1, 2026, Uzbekistan plans to establish a unified nationwide system by integrating medical and social services. Mobile palliative care teams providing home-based medical and social services will be created, with every region of the country getting its own hospice institutions. A children’s palliative care center for patients with severe and incurable illnesses is also planned in the Samarkand region. The palliative-care proposals address one of the more visible gaps in Uzbekistan’s cancer system. Uzbekistan’s first children’s oncology hospice opened in Tashkent in August 2022, while plans for an adult hospice in the capital had been delayed for years. Authorities expect palliative and hospice care coverage to reach at least 80% by 2030. Patients requiring home care will receive specialized equipment, including functional beds and mattresses, through a voucher system. Family members will also be able to access a new “Family Support” service. The proposals additionally include social support measures for employees of state healthcare institutions. These include partial compensation of university tuition fees for the children of medical workers with...