Uzbekistan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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Labor Migration

Germany Pledges to Review Visa Obstacles Facing Skilled Workers From Uzbekistan

Germany has pledged to examine visa-related difficulties faced by Uzbekistani specialists and consider measures to address them, according to Uzbekistan’s Dunyo news agency. The commitment was announced during a meeting at the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry focused on organized and safe recruitment of workers from Uzbekistan for the German labor market. The event was chaired by Dr. Jürgen Ratzinger, the chamber’s managing director for international business, and brought together representatives of German institutions and executives from WISAG, one of Germany’s largest service companies. Uzbekistan's delegation included Gulnara Salimova, honorary representative of Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency in Germany, and Vice Consul Bekzod Abdullayev. During the talks, Uzbek officials outlined efforts to prepare workers for employment in Germany. These measures include vocational training programs tailored to the needs of the German labor market, language instruction, and initiatives designed to support legal and organized labor migration. Participants also discussed challenges faced by Uzbekistani specialists during the visa application process. According to Dunyo, German representatives acknowledged that visa processing for qualified Uzbekistani workers often takes considerable time and said they would study systemic issues and consider possible solutions. The discussions come as Germany continues to face labor shortages in several sectors and seeks qualified foreign workers. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, has increased efforts to create legal pathways for employment abroad through government-supported migration programs. The meeting also follows a recent investigation by German authorities into an alleged visa fraud and migrant smuggling network involving citizens of Uzbekistan. Earlier this month, Germany’s Federal Police carried out searches at seven locations in the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony as part of an investigation led by prosecutors in Bavaria. The case concerns suspected commercial smuggling of foreign nationals, unauthorized residence, visa fraud, and document forgery. The investigation began after federal police inspected a citizen of Uzbekistan traveling on a long-distance bus shortly after he entered Germany through a Bavarian border crossing. Officials at the Frankfurt meeting highlighted the importance of ensuring that labor migration takes place through transparent, legal, and secure channels while improving opportunities for qualified professionals from Uzbekistan seeking work in Germany.

Tourism

Passenger Bus Service Connects Tashkent and Lake Issyk-Kul

A seasonal passenger bus service connecting Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, with Cholpon-Ata, the main resort city on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, has been launched, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport has announced. The route, operated by Uzautotrans Service using Yutong buses, opened on June 8. The service will depart from Tashkent’s main bus station on even-numbered days in June. Return trips from Issyk-Kul to Tashkent will run on odd-numbered days. Tickets cost 365,000 Uzbekistani sum, or about $30. Lake Issyk-Kul is Kyrgyzstan’s premier tourism hub and is especially popular with visitors from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. According to data from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce and the 2GIS mapping service, tourism activity in the Issyk-Kul region has tripled over the past six years. By the end of August 2025, which marked the close of the summer resort season, the volume of tourist services along the lake’s shores had tripled compared with 2019.

Gas Imports

Russian Gas Exports to Uzbekistan Rise as Domestic Production Continues to Fall

Russian gas deliveries to Uzbekistan increased by 15% in 2025, reaching nearly 6.5 billion cubic meters, according to Gazprom’s annual report, as reported by TASS. The report shows that supplies rose from 5.64 billion cubic meters in 2024 to 6.48 billion cubic meters in 2025. Gas was delivered through Kazakhstan using the Central Asia-Center pipeline system in reverse-flow mode. Gazprom said exports to Uzbekistan increased throughout the year, with deliveries in the fourth quarter reaching the maximum technical capacity of the route. The company also reported a 22.2% increase in overall gas exports to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan in 2025. The growth in Russian supplies comes as Uzbekistan faces declining domestic gas production. Earlier this year, The Times of Central Asia reported that the country’s natural gas output fell by 15% in the first quarter of 2026. According to Uzbekistan’s National Statistics Committee, the country produced 9.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas between January and March, compared with 11.3 billion cubic meters during the same period a year earlier. Production declines were also recorded in other energy sectors, including oil, coal, and gas condensate. Uzbekistan began importing Russian gas under a contract signed with Gazprom in June 2023. Deliveries started in October of that year as the country sought additional supplies to meet growing domestic demand, particularly during the winter season. In October 2025, the Russian government said Gazprom was continuing to implement a contract providing for annual gas supplies of up to 7.7 billion cubic meters to Uzbekistan. Officials also noted the potential for further increases in export volumes. Energy cooperation between the two countries has expanded in recent years. In 2024, Gazprom signed agreements with Kazakhstan on the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for the period from 2025 to 2040. The same year, Uzbekistan announced plans to modernize its gas transmission network and raise its capacity for Russian gas imports from 9 million cubic meters to 32 million cubic meters per day.

Digital Governance

How Digital Public Services Are Changing Daily Life in Central Asia

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have moved from queues at public service centers to passports in mobile apps in just a few years, compressing a transition that took many countries decades. Behind the impressive figures, however, are questions the region is still trying to answer. Not so long ago, obtaining a certificate in Central Asia meant a trip to a government office, a queue, and a stack of papers. Today, a resident of Almaty can renew a driver’s license by phone, an entrepreneur in Tashkent can register a company without leaving the office, and a doctor in Bishkek can issue an electronic sick leave certificate. The digitalization of public services has moved beyond strategic documents and become part of everyday life for tens of millions of people. The scale of change is reflected in international assessments. In the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI) for 2024, Asia showed the fastest growth of any region. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan all improved their positions, each at its own pace, and each with its own model. Kazakhstan: From eGov to a Platform State Kazakhstan remains one of the region’s leaders in digital governance. In the 2024 EGDI ranking, the country rose to 24th place globally, ahead of a number of developed economies. Today, around 90% of more than 1,300 public services are available online, while the eGov.kz portal and eGov Mobile app offer access to a growing range of services. The figures speak for themselves. According to Kazakhstan’s e-government portal, citizens received more than 25.7 million services through eGov.kz in 2025, while the eGov Mobile audience exceeded 11.7 million users. The “Digital Documents” section is especially popular: the app provides access to 39 types of documents, from identity cards to driver’s licenses and student IDs. The expansion has continued. In 2025, Kazakhstan launched eGovBusiness, a single-window service for entrepreneurs that allows them to register companies, apply for subsidies, and check risks. The authorities have also moved to consolidate fragmented government apps into the unified eGov and Aitu platforms. The next frontier is artificial intelligence. In 2025, Kazakhstan established the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Through the National AI Platform, the country is developing sovereign infrastructure intended to support the use of generative AI in government and keep citizens’ data within national systems. Uzbekistan: The Fastest Leap Forward If Kazakhstan sets the regional benchmark, Uzbekistan has shown some of the fastest momentum. Over six years, the country climbed 24 positions in the EGDI ranking, from 87th place in 2018 to 63rd in 2024, and entered the category of countries with a “very high” level of e-government development for the first time. At the center of this transformation is the unified portal my.gov.uz, through which citizens and businesses access public services. More than 760 services are available on the platform, while the mobile app offers more than 540. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 16 million services were provided through the system. The direction is set by the Digital Uzbekistan 2030...

Nuclear Energy

Uzbekistan Begins Construction of First Nuclear Power Plant

Uzbekistan has started building its first nuclear power plant, turning a project discussed for nearly a decade into one of the largest energy commitments in the country's post-Soviet history. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin launched construction on June 4 by video link from Saint Petersburg. The plant site in the Forish district of the Jizzakh region was connected to the ceremony. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also took part. The first concrete pour began overnight from June 4 to June 5 for the foundation slab of the plant's first small modular unit. The first stage used 133 cubic meters of concrete. The full pour is expected to exceed 10,000 cubic meters. Uzatom gave the site the official status of a nuclear power plant under construction under IAEA standards. The plan is no longer the modest small-reactor scheme agreed in 2024. The current design combines two large VVER-1000 reactors with two smaller RITM-200N units. Together, they would give the Jizzakh plant more than 2.1 GW of installed capacity. The small and large units will share one site and supporting infrastructure. That shift raised both the scale and the financial and regulatory stakes. This design is the latest version of a plan that has changed several times. Uzbekistan and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation in 2017. In 2018, Rosatom was expected to build two VVER-1200 reactors. The focus later shifted to Jizzakh. In May 2024, Uzbekistan and Rosatom signed a contract for a 330 MW small nuclear plant with six RITM-200N reactors. The plan changed again in 2025, when Tashkent and Moscow settled on the larger mixed-reactor format now under construction. The timetable shows how long the project will take before Uzbekistan gets power from it. The first RITM-200N unit is listed for criticality in late 2029, with the two larger VVER-1000 reactors expected in 2033 and 2035. The push reflects Uzbekistan's fast-rising demand for power. The International Energy Agency says the country's 2020-2030 electricity concept aims to lift generation from 63.6 billion kWh to 120.8 billion kWh by 2030, while cutting gas use in power generation. Uzbekistan produced 86.7 billion kWh in 2025. Renewable power is growing, but officials want a steady baseload supply for industry and cities. Uzbek and Russian estimates put full annual output at about 17 billion kWh. Putin put the future share at up to 15% of Uzbekistan's electricity use, with Reuters also placing the expected contribution at around 15% of demand. Those figures depend on the timing of each unit and on future consumption, which is still rising. Financing is now one of the central questions. Uzatom director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev put the project's base price at $9.5 billion and described that figure as the maximum contract amount. The estimate does not include planned localization, which Uzbekistan wants to raise to 30%. Tashkent wants loans to cover 85-90% of the project and may discuss funding with the New Development Bank and other partners. Russia...

Uzbekistan-Born Mansurova Named EBRD Regional Head for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has named Nodira Mansurova as its next regional head for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, putting her in charge of operations in three Central Asian markets where the bank has invested more than €2.5 billion combined. Mansurova will be based in Bishkek and is expected to take up the post on September 1, 2026. She will replace Ayten Rustamova, who has led the regional office since 2021. The appointment gives Mansurova oversight of one of the EBRD’s more varied regional portfolios in Central Asia. As of March 31, 2026, the bank’s cumulative investment stood at €1.177 billion in Kyrgyzstan, €1.059 billion in Tajikistan, and €327 million in Turkmenistan. The three countries present different operating environments for the bank. In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, EBRD activity has included infrastructure, private-sector development, financial services, and energy-related projects. In Turkmenistan, the bank’s work has been more limited and has focused mainly on private businesses and financial-sector activity. Mansurova has worked for the EBRD since 2001. Born in Uzbekistan and now a British citizen, she has held roles in London and in several countries where the bank operates. Her previous posts included regional head of SME Finance and Development for Central Asia, based in Almaty, and head of the EBRD’s operations in Tunisia. Her new role comes as international financial institutions continue to focus on infrastructure, energy transition, private-sector growth, and regional connectivity in Central Asia.