Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan launches production of military drones
Unmanned aerial vehicles will be dual-use, with some civilian purposes. Flying drones has been banned in country since 2015.
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan make deals with Taliban, but watch border warily
A power outage illustrates in stark terms how much leverage Uzbekistan enjoys over its troubled neighbour to the south.
OUTLOOK: 2022 Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is taking its “opening up” policy to the next level. A wary eye will watch for more instability in both Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. Growth is bouncing back with the worst of the Covid crisis over.
Perspectives | Why Uzbekistan does not fear a ‘Kazakh Winter’
Uzbek insiders think they can avoid Kazakh-style unrest, but they’re not taking any chances.
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INTERVIEW: Kazakhstan in crisis
With Kazakhstan experiencing its worst unrest in three decades of independence, Abakhon Sultonnazarov, Central Asia director of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), assesses latest developments and wider implications of the crisis.
bneGREEN: NDCs need to be rapidly improved to get near 1.5°C target
Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are nowhere near enough to keep global warming within the 1.5°C target
SPECIAL REPORT: Uzbekistan Rising
Uzbekistan’s economy has taken off in the last two years as the reforms implemented by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev start to bear fruit. We collect our recent articles on the transformation in a special report.
DEATH OF THE SOVIET UNION: BOOK REVIEW – Reassessing the causes of the Soviet demise
Vladislav Zubok’s book Collapse: the fall of the Soviet Union examines the causes of the breakup of the Soviet Union and challenges the view that the collapse was inevitable.
The rejuvenation of Uzbekistan’s NavoiAzot chemical works
NavoiAzot's renovation was kicked off in 2016 with some state-guaranteed credits, but since then it seems the investment drive has reached a critical mass, and NavoiAzot has attracted several partners. Business is booming.
INTERVIEW: Bootstrapping Uzbekistan’s finances
Uzbekistan was one of the only two major economies in the world to avoid recession last year but now the economy is bouncing back. The new government hopes to lift the economy up by its bootstraps by smart spending and targeted privatisations.
Uzbek banking privatisation gathering steam
Uzbekistan's most profitable bank, UzPromStroyBank is going to be the first big bank to be sold off as the country’s banking sector privatisation gets under way.
DEATH OF THE SOVIET UNION: Widespread nostalgia but no going back
Many older citizens across the former Soviet Union look back nostalgically to the ‘golden age’ before the transition but few genuinely want a return to socialism.
Uzbek energy reforms focus on energy saving, high efficiency in the first phase
Uzbekistan under its new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is a country gearing up for a bright future – in that the president wants to make sure there is enough power to keep all the lights on as both the economy and the population are growing fast.
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Grim plights in Belarus and Turkey underlined as Committee to Protect Journalists reports “especially bleak year” worldwide
Prison census finds number of journalists jailed around the world in 2021 hit a new record.
Uzbekistan privatisation: “There is no other way”
Uzbekistan's privatisation programme has been in development for several years, and now the first wave of candidate companies have been prepared the number of auctions is snowballing.
Uztelecom digitising Uzbekistan
Nothing says “transformation” like mobile phone ownership and in five years Uzbekistan has seen an explosion of smartphone sales and telecoms services as the state-owned national champion Uztelecom has invested heavily into its infrastructure.
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COMMENT: The West must cut a deal with the Taliban to prevent mass starvation in Afghanistan
The lack of food security in Afghanistan may soon become a threat to the stability of many other countries.
Uzbekistan’s Mahalla democracy
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was roundly criticised in September after he won re-election with a landslide, standing unopposed. But rather than ignore democratic values, the president has turned to the ancient system of Mahalla instead.
EU challenges China’s Belt and Road with €300bn Global Gateway
Bloc’s giant investment offer may appeal to countries worried by Chinese “debt-trap diplomacy”. Beijing warns against geopoliticising infrastructure.
Uzbekistan’s multi-coloured textile revolution
Uzbekistan has a very long history of making luxury textiles and today the country is trying to revive them.
