Uzbekistan

9 August 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled his trip to Central Asia. (Photo by Toshiki Sasazu)
Registan Square in Samarkand. Uzbekistan is positioned to be a transport hub of the Eurasian continent. (Photo by Akira Takemura)
International relations

Uzbekistan's tech ambitions draw corporate Japan's interest

Tashkent looks to leverage Japanese e-learning to educate and employ youth

26 May 2024
"Not enough time, not enough support": Uzbekistan, a landlocked country slightly bigger than California, is facing the consequences of a history of poor irrigation, with rising salinity slashing the size of usable growing areas.
Asia Insight

Uzbek farmers battle to save cotton, wheat crops from mortal enemy: salt

Growing salinization crisis bites as cotton exports to Bangladesh skid 80% in 5 years

7 May 2024
Women at work at the Khiva Silk Carpet Workshop in Khiva, Uzbekistan. The facility opened in 2001 with backing from sources including UNESCO. (All photos by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Arts

Uzbekistan's traditional carpets make a comeback

British adventurer helps to revive skills lost during communist rule

5 May 2024
A worker helps operate a gas field in Uzbekistan in June 2023. Methanol obtained from natural gas can be used to churn out raw materials for products ranging from plastics to films.
Economy

Uzbekistan chases chemical hub dream with Chinese polymer tech

Nation aims to export value-added products made from its natural gas

13 April 2024
This photo, showing the Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists on the left, was one of a series that was first presented at the Tashkent Modernism.Index exhibition that took place in Milan in April and in Tashkent in October. (Photo by Armin Linke)
Life

Tashkent hopes to draw tourists to its modernist buildings

Capital of Uzbekistan undergoes drive to preserve cultural heritage

21 January 2024
Wind turbines in Kazakhstan's Almaty region. Japan and five central Asian countries have inaugurated a new ministerial-level dialogue on decarbonization.
Climate Change

Japan launches new decarbonization dialogue with Central Asia

Tokyo aims to blunt Russian and Chinese influence in key region

27 September 2023
A canal surrounds Uzbekistan's Silk Road Samarkand Tourist Complex. Opened in 2022, the site is at the center of efforts to draw more international visitors. (Photo by David Andreas)
Travel & Leisure

Uzbekistan built a $580 million tourist draw, but will they come?

Poor transport, medical services key hurdles for ambitious travel strategy

15 July 2023
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is greeted at a local polling station during early presidential election in Tashkent on July 9.
Politics

Uzbek president reelected for seven-year term in snap election

Mirziyoyev wins 87.1% of vote in race without viable opposition

10 July 2023
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev applauds during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, China on May 18. 
Politics

Uzbekistan leader Mirziyoyev eyes third term in weekend polls

Presidential election comes after Central Asian nation hit by deadly unrest

8 July 2023
The IAEA, on July 4, is expected to present a final report on the safety of Japan's planned release of treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean from the The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. 
Your Week in Asia

Thai parliament convenes, IAEA Fukushima report, Huawei developer conference

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

2 July 2023
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban inspect the scene of an operation against Islamic State militants at a hideout on the outskirts of Kabul in November 2021.
Terrorism

Afghanistan-based extremists spark terror fears in Central Asia

Islamic State's branch beefing up propaganda to recruit Uzbek, Tajik fighters

10 June 2023
According to government figures, 90.2% of participants in the April 30 referendum voted in favor of revising the constitution.
Opinion

Uzbekistan's improved constitutional rights are meaningless

Law already guaranteed freedoms, no reason to expect implementation

8 May 2023
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev votes in Tashkent on April 30. The passage of constitutional reforms could allow him to stay in power until 2040.
Politics

Uzbekistan votes 'yes' to new constitution in victory for president

Mirziyoyev wins more time as critics question promises of more power to the people

1 May 2023
Uzbeks cast ballots in Tashkent during the country's 2021 presidential election.
Opinion

Uzbekistan's revised constitution can support democratic transition

Citizens have come to expect protection of rights and freedoms

29 April 2023
Police officers are seen outside a Marion Biotech office in Noida, India, on Dec. 29. Uzbekistan says 18 children died after consuming the company's cough syrup.
Pharmaceuticals

India probes cough syrup linked to Uzbekistan child deaths

Allegations echo Gambia scandal, casting new doubts on 'pharmacy of the world'

29 December 2022
Central banks appear to be snapping up gold, but the identity of some of the biggest buyers is not clear.
Commodities

China thought to be stockpiling gold to cut greenback dependence

Buying of metal is at its fastest pace since the 1960s

22 November 2022
To prepare for hosting of this year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, history-drenched Samarkand -- Uzbekistan's second-largest city -- has undergone big changes.
Life

Ancient Samarkand gets a modern makeover

Silk Road city turns into building site ahead of Sino-Russian summit

14 September 2022
The Taliban's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in January: He attended a conference in Tashket this week, where he offered assurances about terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
International relations

ISIS-K threat to Uzbek railway dream opens doors for Taliban

Isolated Afghan rulers offer Central Asia assurances at conference

27 July 2022
An Uzbek law enforcement officer guards a street in Nukus, the capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, on July 3. Officials say 14 protesters and four officers were killed during recent unrest.
Politics

Unrest overshadows dream of IT-powered 'new Uzbekistan'

Net blackout, bans on Twitter, TikTok at odds with courtship of tech investors

7 July 2022
Simone Mantellini, from the University of Bologna, directs the Uzbek-Italian mission at Kafir Kala, an ancient fortress on the outskirts of Samarkand. Excavations began in the early 2000s. (All photos by Sara Perria)
Life

Uzbekistan races to save Silk Road legacy

In Samarkand, ancient sites have been lost to arable farming

1 July 2022
An Uzbek worker pushes raw cotton: The International Labor Organization says forced labor in the industry has fallen to negligible levels.
International relations

Uzbekistan hopes for 'white gold' rush after cotton boycott lifted

Crop has been both a boon and a curse for the Central Asian nation

17 March 2022
The delayed TAPI gas pipeline promises to link Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, but security risks threaten this and other regional connectivity projects.
International relations

India's first Central Asia summit to focus on Afghan risks, trade

Shared security challenges loom over Thursday's talks and port, pipeline hopes

26 January 2022
The India-funded Chabahar Port in Iran in early 2019. New Delhi wants the site to become a gateway to trade with Central Asia. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
International relations

Spotlight on trade gateway as India hosts talks with Central Asia

Sunday discussions look set to focus on New Delhi-funded port in Iran

18 December 2021
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has presided over economic -- but not political -- liberalization.
Politics

Uzbekistan election spotlights economic reforms, static politics

Popular leader Mirziyoyev considered a shoo-in with no room for real opposition

22 October 2021