Uzbekistan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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Nuclear Energy

U.S. Promotes Small Nuclear Reactors in Uzbekistan

The United States is promoting small modular nuclear reactors in Uzbekistan as Tashkent develops its nuclear power sector with Russia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio promoted the technology during his October 19 visit to Samarkand, linking it to rising energy demand. “We’re introducing U.S. small modular reactors and modernizing the Uzbek electric grid and gas distribution network,” Rubio told the U.S.-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council. He said the cooperation would help the government keep pace with growing energy demand. Rubio did not name a reactor supplier or announce financing or a construction schedule for an American plant. Uzbekistan’s interest predates Rubio’s visit. In November 2025, the country expressed interest in studying designs from Holtec, GE Hitachi, and NuScale, according to the World Nuclear Association. Tashkent has pursued those discussions alongside its current nuclear partnership with Russia. Small modular reactors generally have an electrical capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Factories can manufacture their components and assemble them on site. Utilities can add smaller units in stages as demand increases. For Uzbekistan, nuclear power forms part of an effort to expand electricity supply as domestic gas production declines. Once a net gas exporter, the country became a net importer in 2023. Gas output fell 16.3% year-on-year in January-August 2026, increasing pressure on supplies. The World Nuclear Association puts natural gas at 76% of Uzbekistan’s electricity output in 2023. Reducing the amount burned in power stations could ease import needs and leave more available for industry, including petrochemicals. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom is developing Uzbekistan’s first nuclear complex in the Forish district of the Jizzakh region. The design combines two large Russian VVER-1000 reactors with two smaller RITM-200N units, providing about 2.1 gigawatts of capacity. The smaller reactors are each rated at 55 megawatts. Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Vladimir Putin launched the project by video link in June, accompanied by a concrete pouring ceremony. The development has expanded substantially since the countries agreed in 2024 to build a plant consisting of six small reactors. The published schedule envisages a technical launch of the first small unit in late 2029, with the larger units following in the 2030s. Nuclear generation is therefore several years away. Uzbekistan must also improve the networks that deliver electricity to homes and businesses. Following a nationwide referendum on the issue, Kazakhstan is also investing in nuclear power. Its planned Balkhash plant, near Ulken on Lake Balkhash, will use Russian technology. A nuclear agreement signed in May envisages two VVER-1200 reactors with a combined capacity of about 2.4 gigawatts. Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency put the project’s cost at approximately $16.5 billion, including security and supporting infrastructure. Kazakhstan’s strategy calls for at least three nuclear power plants by 2050. China National Nuclear Corporation has been selected to lead the second project. The country is the world’s largest uranium producer, but developing power stations also requires foreign reactor technology and expertise. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have begun cooperating on nuclear safety. Officials...

Taxi Competition

Yandex Go Outage Boosts Rival Taxi Services in Uzbekistan

The ripple effects of this month's Yandex Go outage are still being felt across Uzbekistan's taxi market. Rival ride-hailing services have reported a surge in bookings, while a senior government official has raised the prospect of further competition, revealing that a Chinese company plans to launch its own taxi app with a fleet of 5,000 vehicles. Uzbekistan's First Deputy Minister of Transport Mamanbiy Omarov disclosed the unnamed investor's plans in an October 16 interview with Spot, although further details were scant. On October 11, Yandex Go users in Uzbekistan experienced disruptions when trying to book rides. The app also operated intermittently in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The outages coincided with a series of drone strikes targeting Yandex data centers in Russia. Between October 8 and 11, attacks affected company facilities in the Ryazan and Kaluga regions, followed by a strike in Vladimir. Server disruptions also hit delivery and other digital services used by people across Central Asia. Yandex Go accounted for approximately 85% of receipts issued through taxi aggregators in Uzbekistan in 2024, according to figures from the country's Tax Committee. Between October 11 and 13, orders through Uklon rose to two to three times normal levels, while MyTaxi, which operates only in Tashkent, reported 15 times its usual volume, according to Spot. MyTaxi said its own servers are located in Uzbekistan and outlined plans to retain the new passengers attracted during the disruption. It remains unknown where the Chinese operator's servers will be located or which companies will provide its technical infrastructure. These details would help establish how dependent the service might be on infrastructure outside Uzbekistan. Chinese automakers already operate in Uzbekistan, while companies from China are involved in developing the country's transport infrastructure. The proposed fleet could give the new operator a significant presence, particularly if it concentrates on Tashkent. However, Chinese companies have not always succeeded in challenging Yandex's position in Central Asia. Ride-hailing giant DiDi entered neighboring Kazakhstan in 2021 but withdrew in March 2022, less than a year after launching. The company cited changing market conditions and other challenges, although it did not explain its decision in detail.

FINNEXT Asia Forum

FINNEXT Asia Forum in Tashkent to Discuss Central Asia’s Financial Markets

The third international FINNEXT Asia 2026 forum will take place in Tashkent on November 19. Organizers expect more than 600 representatives of the banking and financial technology industries to discuss AI adoption and changes in financial regulation across the region. The forum will be held at the Hyatt Regency Tashkent, with executives from financial institutions and technology companies in Uzbekistan, Russia, other Central Asian countries, and Europe expected to attend. The agenda includes open banking and digital assets. Yevgeniya Yakunina, chair of the FINNEXT Asia organizing committee, told The Times of Central Asia that organizers hope the event will lead to business agreements and joint projects. [caption id="attachment_58791" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image: TCA[/caption] “In 2025, we received 954 registrations from representatives of 520 companies. Banks accounted for 41% of participants,” Yakunina said. According to Yakunina, this year’s priorities include closer cooperation between banks and technology companies, with startups helping address banking challenges and regulatory changes. For the first time, the forum will host the Startup Center: New Wave competition. Teams from Central Asia will present fintech innovations, including projects concerning the digital soum. The judging panel will include representatives of banks and venture capital funds from Central Asia and Russia. Organizers hope the competition will help startups find partners for pilot projects and attract investment. A separate discussion will focus on the economic returns from artificial intelligence, including its use in credit assessments and fraud detection. Yakunina believes financial companies still face difficulties measuring the practical results of AI adoption. “Many companies launch isolated projects without understanding how to measure their impact. Data and specialists are necessary conditions, but they are not the ultimate goal,” she told TCA. The program also includes discussions on digital identity verification and open-banking interfaces for consent-based sharing of customer data. Participants will examine digital assets and regulatory experiments in Uzbekistan. The investment agenda will cover venture capital financing and opportunities for regional companies to access international stock markets. A dedicated insurance track, INSUR Asia, will explore automation in the industry. The forum will conclude with a discussion of prospects for Central Asia’s financial markets in 2027. Announced participants include representatives of Uzbek banks and IT Park Uzbekistan, alongside Gazprombank and Russia’s state development corporation VEB.RF. Insurance companies from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Russia are also expected to attend.

Kindergarten Privatization

Tashkent Faces Kindergarten Shortage as Authorities Propose Sales

Uzbekistan has earmarked kindergartens for possible sale, including some still in use, even as Tashkent faces a shortage of 65,000 preschool places. Officials say the properties must continue to be used as kindergartens, but have not said how much their new owners could charge parents. Gazeta.uz reported plans to sell around ten kindergartens following an October 8 press conference held by Sohibjon Murodov, director of the State Assets Management Agency. The published privatization list includes state kindergarten No. 58 in Tashkent’s Yakkasaroy district, which has a capacity of 120 children. Murodov said the building is very old and claimed that it does not even have a foundation. The children are to be transferred to a new state kindergarten with 720 places, currently under construction in the same neighborhood. The vacated 0.56-hectare plot is expected to be sold on the condition that a private kindergarten is established there. Murodov said the Yakkasaroy property had not yet been put up for auction and that inclusion on the privatization list does not necessarily mean a property will be sold. If residents' objections are found to be justified, individual properties could be removed from the program in coordination with the Presidential Administration. In Kashkadarya Region, another kindergarten on the list belongs to a state-owned oil and gas company but is already leased to a private operator. Selling it would therefore transfer ownership of a facility that is already privately run. The proposed sales have also exposed differences between national and city authorities. Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov opposes transferring land belonging to state schools and kindergartens to private education projects, including through public-private partnerships. He argues that such sites should be reserved for state institutions. The State Assets Management Agency, by contrast, allows kindergarten properties to be sold provided they retain their educational purpose. The potential cost to parents is a particular concern. According to an estimate based on crowdsourced data cited by Anhor.uz, the average monthly fee for a private kindergarten in Tashkent was around 3.8 million soums (approximately $315) in May 2026. Fees at state kindergartens are regulated by the government and increased by approximately 6.8% in September 2026. Even after the increase, a standard nine-hour place in Tashkent costs around 290,500 soums ($24) a month, less than one-tenth of the estimated private-sector average. Tashkent authorities plan to create 40,000 additional places by 2030 and increase preschool enrollment to 92%. In October, plans for 28 new institutions with a combined capacity of 16,000 places were presented to the president. Even so, the proposed 40,000 new places would be 25,000 fewer than the city's estimated current shortage, although demand may change by 2030. According to city administration figures reported by Gazeta.uz, preschool enrollment rates in 11 of the capital's 12 districts are projected to be lower in 2026 than in 2023. The largest declines are projected in Sergeli, Yakkasaroy, and Bektemir districts. Authorities have not explained the reasons. Across Uzbekistan, however, preschool enrollment rose from 27% in 2017 to approximately 75% in 2025, according...

C5+1

Uzbekistan Announces $12 Billion in Agreements During Marco Rubio’s Visit

Uzbekistan has announced 54 agreements covering trade, investment, and technological cooperation during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Samarkand. The agreements are worth a total of $12 billion, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. The agreements were announced at the second meeting of the Uzbekistan–U.S. Business and Investment Council on October 19. Rubio also met President Shavkat Mirziyoyev that day. The ministry said the agreements cover transport and energy infrastructure, critical minerals, finance, digital technologies, agriculture, healthcare, and education. Rubio’s visit coincided with a C5+1 ministerial meeting, bringing together the United States and the five Central Asian countries. The Uzbek ministry stated that more than 400 business representatives participated in the program, including over 100 from the United States, 100 from other Central Asian countries, and 200 from Uzbekistan. It did not specify how much of the announced $12 billion has secured financing and how much remains at the planning stage. Several international companies were named in the agreements announced during the visit. According to the announced arrangements, cooperation with Wabtec is focused on localizing the production of railway equipment and components. Agreements involving ReElement Technologies, Traxys, and Trafigura cover mineral exploration, development, technological cooperation, and supplies. Other announced projects involve satellite communications with Amazon Leo, medical technologies with GE HealthCare, and agricultural efficiency with Valmont Industries. Speaking to reporters in Samarkand on October 19, Rubio said the visit was expected to produce concrete commercial results. “I think we’ll have some concrete deals to announce, meaning companies that are going to be doing business here that are being welcomed here and that are excited about doing business here,” Rubio said. He emphasized that the agreements should be viewed as the beginning of a broader economic relationship. “I also think that’s just the foundation that we intend to build on. We want to do more. This is not the end. This is the beginning,” he said. In their joint statement, the C5+1 governments supported expanding mineral processing and higher-value production within Central Asia. They also backed further development of the Trans-Caspian Trade Route and closer regional economic integration. The visit also marked the launch of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue and Uzbekistan’s signing of the Artemis Accords on peaceful space exploration. From Investment Announcements to Projects In an interview with The Times of Central Asia (TCA), political analyst Abduvali Soyibnazarov described Rubio’s visit and the C5+1 meeting as a potentially important stage in Washington’s relations with Central Asia. Recalling the first C5+1 ministerial meeting, attended by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Samarkand in November 2015, Soyibnazarov said the agenda has changed considerably over the past decade, with investment, critical minerals, advanced technologies, and new trade routes moving to the forefront. The analyst argued that Uzbekistan’s main measure of success should not be the number of memorandums signed, but how many projects ultimately secure financing and move forward. Uzbekistan’s investment minister, Laziz Kudratov, put the country’s portfolio of commercial agreements with the United States at...

Remittances

Opinion: The Remittance Economy’s Promise: How Migration Could Support Women Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan

Migration has become a major socio-economic process, substantially affecting Uzbekistan’s economic development and quality of life. The primary destination countries for labor migrants from Uzbekistan have been Russia, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey, as well as certain European and Asian countries. Remittances from migrants have become a major source of foreign currency inflows and a key form of economic support for households. Over time, they have raised economic activity and contributed to greater currency stability. In 2025, remittance inflows to Uzbekistan rose 28% compared to 2024, reaching $18.9 billion. Despite the positive growth of Uzbekistan’s economy, the country still faces limited employment opportunities. Although the unemployment rate dropped to 4.9% in the third quarter of 2025, a noticeable improvement, around 760,000 people remained unemployed and were looking for work. In 2025, the official average monthly salary in Uzbekistan was 6,376,700 soums (about $530 at the year-end exchange rate). This remains relatively low, pushing many working-age people to seek work abroad. When people picture remittances flowing into Central Asia, they usually imagine one scenario: the father who has gone abroad, sending his family in Uzbekistan “survival money” for rent, groceries, and school fees. In some small districts of Uzbekistan, however, this picture is starting to look different. That same money can now also become a source of opportunity: a sewing machine, a voucher for educational courses, or a business plan with a woman’s name on it. A Policy Shift Begins While remittances have substantially improved the living standards of recipient households and have become a crucial source of foreign currency for Uzbekistan, their effect on women is more complex. For some families, money sent home from abroad has been considered “out of the system.” These funds regularly supported family budgets, but financial institutions did not always recognize them as income. Recipients could lack the documented income or credit history needed to qualify for a loan, even when their families had received remittances for many years. However, a pilot program launched in March 2026 by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union in cooperation with Hamkorbank, one of Uzbekistan’s leading banks, aims to change the picture. According to IFAD, the program’s credit scoring model uses remittances to assess a borrower’s ability to repay a loan. This approach could be transformational for rural women who struggle to access credit directly. It could enable rural borrowers to access formal loans, invest in small businesses, and build a credit history. Alongside the financial support, 900 rural residents, at least 50% of whom will be women, will have access to business and financial literacy training. In addition, 100 participants will receive enterprise mentoring to help them run or scale up their businesses. Faces Behind the Numbers Women face many obstacles in accessing credit, finding employment, and launching a business. According to the World Bank, they own nearly a third of registered micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Uzbekistan but receive only about 14% of loans to those businesses. This may be due to limited collateral or...