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China will invest $1 billion in the Andijan region of Uzbekistan to create an enterprise processing the hides and organs of domestic animals. It is reported that the Uzbek delegation, led by the khokim (head) of the Andijan region, visited China, where they familiarized themselves with the activities of Kaifeng Shengmeishun Leather Products company in Kaifeng City, Henan province. During the visit, the Uzbek delegation held talks with representatives of China's public and private sectors. The khokim of the Andijan region and the Chairman of the Veterinary Committee of Uzbekistan participated in the discussion. The main topic of the talks was investment in the hide and organ processing project and the establishment of contacts with leading Chinese institutions in veterinary medicine, cattle breeding, poultry farming, and fishing. They also discussed cooperation in scientific research and the training of Uzbek specialists. Following the meeting, the Chinese side fully supported investment projects and scientific research in Uzbekistan. A new project worth $1 billion will be developed in the Andijan region with direct Chinese investment. This year, it plans to invest $100 million and create 3,000 jobs.
The government of the Republic of Uzbekistan may agree with the leadership of Germany on sending its labor migrants to Europe in return for the deportation of Afghan refugees. This was reported by the Bloomberg agency. According to sources, Germany is negotiating with Uzbekistan on the conclusion of a migration pact, which may include the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers, so that Berlin does not have to make direct deals with the Taliban. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised a tougher stance on migration, including the deportation of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Syria. The decision follows a recent series of violent attacks and growing sympathy for the populist far-right in Germany. Interior Minister Nancy Feather, a senior member of Scholz's center-left Social Democrats party, sent officials to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent in late May to negotiate a pact on migration and deportation. Any prospective deal is yet to be finalized. Under the proposed plan, the Uzbek government would accept a limited number of rejected Afghan asylum seekers deported from Germany, and then send them to neighboring Afghanistan using private flights to Kabul. The Uzbek government is considering the idea, but wants any migration pact to also include bilateral rules allowing for the legal migration of skilled workers from Uzbekistan to Germany. According to sources, the German government's special representative for migration agreements, Joachim Stamp, will soon travel to Uzbekistan for further negotiations on such an agreement. An interior ministry spokeswoman declined to comment on the plan, which was also reported by Der Spiegel magazine and the DPA news agency. Following a fatal knife attack by an Afghan refugee on a German policeman, Chancellor Scholz, delivering a speech on law and order in parliament on June 6, said his government would allow criminals to be deported to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Syria. "Serious criminals and terrorist threats have no place here," Scholz said, adding that the interior ministry was working on practical implementation and was already in talks with countries bordering Afghanistan. Germany previously completely halted deportations to Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban returned to power in the summer of 2021.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has opened an office in Uzbekistan. The opening ceremony was attended by IFAD President, Alvaro Lario, and the Uzbek Minister of Agriculture, Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1978. "The opening of the Fund's office in Tashkent reflects our commitment to sustainable economic development in Uzbekistan and the region. Through partnerships with the government and the private sector, we can support more ambitious investments in climate change adaptation and rural prosperity," said Lario. "Uzbekistan has been cooperating with the fund since joining it as a member state in 2011. Having a representative office in the country will allow to better address specific needs and problems of the agricultural sector," the fund said in a statement. Over the past decade, IFAD's portfolio of projects in the region has grown significantly, with a total investment of $435.3 million covering more than 550,000 rural residents.
The U.S. State Department, in agreement with the Republic of Turkey, has announced that it added a number of individuals to the “blacklist” of the ISIS terrorist group. The department recognized the leader of ISIS in Georgia, Adam Khamirzayev, as a “global terrorist.” All three members of the ISIS-related smuggling network have been identified as terrorists, and all three of them are from Uzbekistan: Muhammadyusuf Alisher Ogli Mirzoev is a Uzbekistani national involved in work to establish an ISIS-linked “military” training camp in mid-2023. Mirzoev is also being designated by the Government of Turkey. Muhammad Ibrohimjon Niyazov is a Uzbekistani national and a supporter of the ISIS-linked smuggling network. Niyazov has provided administrative and logistics support for ISIS members in Turkey. Niyazov is also being designated by the Government of Turkey. Olimkhon Makhmudjon Ugli Ismailov is based in Uzbekistan and is a member of the ISIS-linked smuggling network. Internal measures are being taken against all of the men in Turkey. As stated in the report, any U.S. or foreign persons who engages in certain transactions with these individuals may be exposed to sanctions, including under secondary sanctions authorities.
The first business seminar on the investment climate and business opportunities in Kazakhstan and Central Asia was held last week in Stockholm, Sweden. As reported by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, the event was attended by Chairman of the Sweden–Central Asia Friendship Group of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) Bjorn Soder, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Sweden Nodir Ganiev, Ambassador of Sweden to Kazakhstan Ewa Polano, Ambassador of Sweden to Uzbekistan Tomas Danestad, Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Eurasia Heinz Sjogren, and representatives of Swedish ministries and large companies. Speaking at the event, Bjorn Soder noted the strategic importance of enhancing cooperation between Sweden’s and Central Asia’s public and private sectors. Attention was drawn to Central Asia’s huge potential for strengthening trade and economic relations with Sweden, and the limitless prospects for expanding investment partnership. Ewa Polano and Tomas Danestad shared their views on the dynamic development of Central Asia, emphasizing that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the “core-countries” of the region. Referencing growing competition in the region, the two ambassadors called on the Swedish business community to invest in Central Asia, as well as expand its presence in the region. Representative of Scania AB, Fredrik Wijkander, outlined the Swedish company’s presence in Kazakhstan where it has been operating since 2007. In 2023, the assembly of Scania trucks was launched in Saran, in the Karaganda region, and in 2024, Scania AB set up Scania Central Asia as an independent business unit in the region with its head office in Almaty. Fredrik Wijkander said that despite the high competition from Chinese automakers, the Swedish company will continue to strengthen its presence in Central Asia and expand production. To this effect, he confirmed plans for the assembly of trucks and buses, and establish local production in Kazakhstan.
On 14 June, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. During their meeting in Tashkent, it was noted that the Republic of Korea is among Uzbekistan’s leading trade and investment partners. Last year, bilateral trade turnover reached $2.5 billion, and Korean investments in Uzbekistan now exceed $7.5 billion. Negotiations focused on the formation of a new, high-tech agenda for Uzbek-Korean strategic partnership over the next three years. As a result, the two leaders tasked their governments to prepare a Strategic Program for the creation of a regional high-tech hub in Uzbekistan, with priority given to the following “anchor” areas of the Strategy: Partnership on critical mineral resources with deep processing and creation of a complete added value chain. Strategic cooperation in the field of semiconductors, in which the Republic of Korea is recognized as a global leader, and the implementation of plans to create in Uzbekistan’s first fully-fledged research and production cluster of semiconductor products. Full-scale partnership in the chemical industry, including new projects to produce green hydrogen and ammonia, as well as finished rubber products. Deepening cooperation in mechanical engineering. This spring, an assembly line for KIA cars was launched in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region, to be followed next year, by a plant with the capacity to manufacture over 60 thousand vehicles per year. Transfer of technologies to develop “smart” agriculture, including via the digitalization of the agricultural sector, the introduction of “smart” and “green” technologies. Agreements have already been reached on the creation of modern greenhouses and garden complexes in Uzbekistan’s regions based on renewable energy sources. Infrastructure modernization and a program for urban development, based on the high interest of Korean banks and companies in the modernization of transport infrastructure, and the design and construction of residential and commercial real estate in Uzbekistan on the principles of public-private partnership. With regard to developing potential projects in green energy and increase energy efficiency, strategic dialogue is to be resumed between energy ministers and a meeting organized in Uzbekistan in the near future.
