Uzbekistan International Affairs - The Times Of Central Asia

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Central Asia’s C6 Takes Shape in Washington as Ambassadors Push for Practical Integration

Less than two weeks after regional leaders gathered in Cholpon Ata, diplomats from the emerging C6 grouping used a discussion in Washington to shift the focus from declarations of unity to the mechanics of integration: customs, railways, digitalized trade, access to European markets, and stronger links across the Caspian. The sharpest political message came from Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the United States, Edil Baisalov, who said that Central Asian states were increasingly recognizing that they were “enough for each other,” and that resolving differences within the region had become a pragmatic national interest. His comments gave unusually direct language to a trend that has accelerated since the region’s consultative meetings began in 2018. The August 12 event at the Caspian Policy Center brought together the U.S.-based ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan, the sixth country in the emerging C6 framework, was not listed among the participants. The event followed a late-July meeting in Cholpon Ata, where leaders concentrated on transport, energy security, investment, and foreign-policy coordination. The C6 label remains shorthand rather than the name of a formal organization. Its political basis, however, has become more concrete since Azerbaijan was admitted as a full participant in the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in November 2025. The shift extended a format once focused on relations among the five Central Asian republics across the Caspian Sea. From Regional Dialogue to Regional Agency Azerbaijan’s ambassador, Khazar Ibrahim, presented Cholpon Ata as evidence that the six states increasingly see themselves as part of one political and economic space. “We are finally holistic. We are all together,” he said. He argued that Azerbaijan’s presence changes the geography of the grouping by turning the Caspian from a dividing line into a connecting space between Central Asia and the South Caucasus. That idea has been developing for some time. TCA has previously examined how Azerbaijan’s entry could turn the C6 framework into a platform for common rules on transport, tariffs, customs systems, and digital data, rather than another layer of summit diplomacy. Kazakhstan’s ambassador, Magzhan Ilyassov, put the emphasis on building an “economically active neighborhood.” He pointed to the frequency of regional meetings and said the value of the current process lies partly in maintaining an inclusive conversation among the Central Asian states. Kazakhstan has also pushed for stronger coordination on transport planning as the consultative format develops. For Uzbekistan, the discussion was more explicitly about market access. Ambassador Furqat Sidiqov said cooperation with Azerbaijan could give Uzbekistan wider access to European and other export markets. He also called for further digitalization of the Middle Corridor. Sidiqov said Uzbekistan had close to 300 joint ventures with Central Asian countries in 2017, and now has about 1,500 with neighboring states. Corridors Become the Practical Core Digitalizing the Trans-Caspian route is not a new proposal. The countries of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia, which already brings together the five Central Asian states and Azerbaijan, endorsed a digitalization...

Central Asia-EU Relations

EU Deepens Central Asia Ties as Rights Record Varies Across Region

The European Union is rapidly deepening its trade, investment, and political ties with Central Asia, even as its latest assessment points to worsening human rights conditions across much of the region. The latest assessments are contained in the EU’s annual Human Rights and Democracy in the World country reports, which separately examine all five Central Asian states. In Kazakhstan, the EU notes judicial and political reforms, as well as continued implementation of measures aimed at strengthening protection against gender-based violence. Brussels also points to a shrinking space for civil society, growing pressure on journalists and independent media, increased oversight of NGOs, and continued restrictions on peaceful assembly. As part of the UN Universal Periodic Review, Kazakhstan accepted 259 of the 294 recommendations it received. The assessment of Kyrgyzstan is notably harsher. The EU says the human rights situation continued to deteriorate and highlights the new media law, mandatory registration for all media outlets, a 35% cap on foreign ownership, and prosecutions of media workers that it describes as seemingly politically motivated. Another source of concern was the closure of the National Center for the Prevention of Torture, whose functions were transferred to the Ombudsperson’s Office. In Tajikistan, the main concerns include pressure on independent media and human rights defenders, restrictions on freedom of expression and association, reports of torture and ill-treatment in detention, and the situation of Pamiri activists and journalists. Citing Human Rights Watch, the EU report says at least seven journalists were imprisoned on charges related to their reporting or coverage of protests. Turkmenistan remains subject to some of the region’s most extensive restrictions. Brussels points to continuing restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, the media, association, assembly, and religion, as well as reports of torture and ill-treatment in prisons. The EU also notes some improvements in detention conditions, gender equality and gender-based violence, and cooperation with the International Labour Organization on eliminating forced labor. The EU’s assessment of Uzbekistan is quite severe. According to the EU, the human rights and democracy situation continued to steadily deteriorate in 2025, with backsliding in nearly every area. Brussels points to legal action and imprisonment targeting journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders, restrictions affecting NGOs, and worsening media freedom. The full report on the July 2022 protests in Karakalpakstan had still not been made public by the end of 2025. The EU nevertheless notes some positive developments, including new measures to protect children, changes to divorce law, and improved representation of women in parliament. The severity of these assessments contrasts with the pace at which Europe is expanding its relationship with the region. The first EU-Central Asia summit, held in Samarkand in April 2025, elevated relations to a strategic partnership. Brussels also announced a €12 billion Global Gateway investment package covering transport links, critical raw materials, digital connectivity, water, and energy. The Times of Central Asia has reported on efforts to move from political agreements toward specific projects. Human rights, however, remain part of the relationship with Brussels. This has been...

G20 Summit

Kazakhstan Confirms Tokayev Will Attend Miami G20 Summit

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on August 12 that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit on December 14–15 at Trump National Doral Miami, President Donald Trump’s golf resort near Miami. Kazakhstan is not a member of the G20 and will attend as a guest of the United States, which holds the group’s presidency this year. Trump first said on December 23, 2025, that he would invite Tokayev and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev following separate telephone calls with the two Central Asian leaders. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the relationship with both countries was “spectacular.” G20 hosts regularly invite countries outside the group to attend leaders’ summits. Two of Washington’s stated priorities for its G20 presidency are reducing regulatory burdens and expanding access to reliable, affordable energy. A third is developing new technologies, another area of recent U.S.-Kazakhstan cooperation. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer, while American companies have pursued mineral and technology investments in the country. Relations between Astana and the Trump administration have grown closer. At the C5+1 summit in Washington in November 2025, Tokayev said Trump’s “wise and bold policy” deserved strong support worldwide and praised his “Make America Great Again” agenda. During the same visit, Kazakhstan announced that it would join the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, although it had maintained diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992. On January 22, Tokayev signed the charter establishing Trump’s Board of Peace. Uzbekistan has also been invited to the Miami summit, although as of August 13, Tashkent had not publicly confirmed that Mirziyoyev would attend. On June 25, Mirziyoyev met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss trade and investment, including continued U.S. support for Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization.

Labor Migrants

Uzbekistan Repatriates Bodies of Eight Citizens Killed in Drone Attack

The bodies of eight Uzbek construction workers who were killed in a drone strike in the Russian region of Tatarstan were repatriated on Wednesday, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Uzbekistan’s ministries for emergency situations, internal affairs and health, as well as migration authorities, were also involved in the repatriation, the press service of the foreign ministry said. It posted photos of the operation, including a wooden coffin being carried onto an Uzbek Air Force plane. The ministry said it was coordinating with Russian officials to help injured Uzbek citizens who were hospitalized after the August 10 attack in the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk, which Russia blamed on Ukraine. Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Tatarstan, had said 25 people were hospitalized, although he didn’t provide their nationalities. Minnikhanov said some people were killed at a hostel, describing them as “ordinary workers, having breakfast before the start of their workday.” Many labor migrants from Central Asia travel to Russia to seek work, filling job shortages and sending money back to their home countries. They often live in cheap hostels and other communal living arrangements. Citing Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Asia-Plus news agency reported that a Tajik citizen also died in the attack on Nizhnekamsk. Asia-Plus later quoted the ministry as saying two Tajik nationals were injured. A total of 13 people, including a child, died, according to Russian officials. Russia said Ukraine carried out the attack on several locations, including residential areas and industrial facilities. The Ukrainian military said it struck an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk and caused a fire, in what was part of a campaign to target Russian energy infrastructure in the war against Moscow.

Middle Corridor

Central Asia and Azerbaijan Extend Cooperation Across the Caspian

Central Asia’s presidential forum now spans both shores of the Caspian. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan anchor the principal Caspian crossing at the center of the Middle Corridor, the rail-and-sea network linking Central Asia to European markets through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. Azerbaijan’s full participation brings the corridor’s eastern and western Caspian gateways into the same regular political setting. The six governments can use it to coordinate the transport, energy, digital, and investment links already developing across the Caspian, even though Georgia and Türkiye remain essential to the route’s westward operation. On July 31, 2026, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan signed the Cholpon-Ata Declaration at an informal Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in Kyrgyzstan. The Declaration gave formal political expression to cooperation that had already been developing. Official accounts said the leaders emphasized expanded regional cooperation, including trade, transport and logistics, and energy. The full text has not been released, so those priorities come from official accounts rather than the declaration itself. Proposed by Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in 2017 and first convened in Astana in March 2018, the Consultative Meetings brought together the five Central Asian states in an informal presidential format. They expanded in November 2025 with Azerbaijan’s admission as a full-fledged participant, while retaining their consultative character. Azerbaijan attended in 2023 and 2024 as a guest; Cholpon-Ata was its first informal meeting in the new capacity. Official documents continue to call the format “Central Asia and Azerbaijan.” C6 is analytical shorthand for the enlargement, not the name of a new bloc or formal organization. Azerbaijan’s admission follows several years of practical cooperation. At a ministerial meeting in Aktau on November 25, 2022, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye signed a 2022–2027 roadmap for the simultaneous elimination of bottlenecks and development of the Middle Corridor. At its 2023 Baku summit, the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) adopted a digitalization roadmap and established a multi-partner trust fund, followed by work on digital data exchange and port-to-port cooperation. The transport roadmap includes Georgia and Türkiye, while SPECA also includes Afghanistan; neither is institutionally identical to C6. The enlarged format gives the six governments a regular political setting in which to coordinate existing transport, digital, and investment mechanisms. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association reports that freight through the seaports of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan reached 3.3 million tons in 2024, 20% above the 2023 level, while container traffic within the same scope rose 176% to 56,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Freight remains the principal basis of integration. Oil transit, prospective electricity links, and joint investment instruments are extending cooperation into adjacent sectors. Kazakhstan's use of the route for oil exports is also rising: according to KazMunayGas reports, Kazakhstani oil shipments from Aktau through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan route increased by 34% to 1.4 million tons in 2024. At COP29 in Baku on November 13, 2024, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan signed a strategic-partnership agreement on producing and transmitting green energy,...

Civilian Casualties

Uzbekistan Forms Commission After Nizhnekamsk Drone Strike as Russia Puts Uzbek Death Toll at Eight

Uzbekistan has formed a special commission after its citizens were killed in a drone attack on several locations in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk on Monday. Russian authorities now say eight Uzbek citizens were among the 13 people killed, one more than Uzbekistan’s consulate in the Russian city of Kazan initially reported. A Tajik citizen was also reported among the dead. Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack, the latest in a campaign of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military in the long-running war with Russia. Ukraine has often targeted oil facilities in an attempt to undermine a key source of revenue for Russia, though there were conflicting accounts of what was hit in the Nizhnekamsk attack. Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit an oil refinery and caused a fire, while local Russian officials said residential areas as well as industrial facilities were hit, and a child was among those killed. Uzbekistan’s consulate in Kazan did not name the Uzbek nationals who died in the attack on Monday and did not provide any further personal information. The consulate initially put the Uzbek death toll at seven. Azattyq Asia subsequently reported that Russian authorities put the number at eight. Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said one Tajik citizen was also killed. “Necessary contacts have been established with local responsible authorities, agencies, and investigative bodies to clarify the details of the incident,” the consulate said. “We would like to inform you that the necessary arrangements are being made to repatriate the bodies of the deceased citizens to their homeland after the completion of forensic examinations and the necessary official procedures.” The consulate quoted law enforcement agencies in Tatarstan, the region of Russia where Nizhnekamsk is located, as saying that 13 people were killed and 39 people were injured in the drone strikes. Nizhnekamsk is a major industrial center that lies about 900 kilometers east of Moscow.