Uzbekistan has established a Business Council in Dubai to strengthen direct business ties with the UAE, as bilateral trade reached $1.2bn in 2025 and Emirati investment totaled around $3bn over the past three years.

Tashkent region is implementing 14 investment projects worth a combined $6.2bn, including a $30mn solar cell manufacturing facility in Akhangaran that has secured a $200mn U.S. contract, while new schools, kindergartens and mahalla centers are also being commissioned across the region.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met a U.S. congressional delegation led by Jason Smith to discuss political reforms, parliamentary diplomacy and expanding trade, investment and strategic ties.

Uzbekistan’s graduates earned an average monthly salary of UZS 4.9mn ($415) between July 2025 and June 2026, while new data tracks their employment rates, salaries and time taken to find jobs across 170 higher education institutions.

Uzbekistan recorded a sharp improvement in school graduates’ university entrance test results in 2026, with 4,825 students achieving the maximum 189 points and the number of state-funded admissions also rising.

Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration chief Saida Mirziyoyeva held talks with senior Chinese officials, including Zhao Leji and Wang Yi, to advance bilateral cooperation and discuss new opportunities in trade, investment, transport, education and culture, as Tashkent and Beijing seek to deepen their strategic partnership.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlights Uzbekistan’s 2.5-fold economic growth, more than $160bn in foreign investment and major infrastructure and social development gains as the country marks its 35th Independence Day, with GDP expected to exceed $180bn in 2026.

Uzbekistan and Poland are set to deepen cooperation in vocational education, with discussions covering the development of technical schools, specialist training, international certification and the use of digital technologies and AI in education.

Acwa and KOWEPO have signed an MoU to explore renewable energy, energy storage and related infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, including opportunities to attract South Korean financing, as Acwa expands its portfolio of 19 projects worth up to $15bn in the country.

Uzbekistan’s Tashkent has approved procedures for urban renovation projects, including new housing and compensation for affected homeowners, while outstanding utility debts and overpayments will be transferred to their new apartments.

Uzbekistan created around 42,000 new preschool places in the first half of 2026, while expanding non-state education and providing financial support for women in higher education and young people under the Uzbekistan-2030 strategy.

Uzbekistan has established a new system allowing individuals to transfer money using mobile phone numbers linked to bank accounts, with transactions processed through the Central Bank’s Instant Payments system in real time and available 24/7 through mobile banking applications.

Uzbekistan and South Korea discussed expanding trade, increasing Uzbek exports and developing joint projects across several sectors, as bilateral trade reached nearly $2bn and total Korean investment in Uzbekistan exceeded $8bn.

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan signed a Treaty on Eternal Friendship, launched joint projects and expanded cooperation in infrastructure and investment during President Ilham Aliyev’s two-day state visit, which included high-level talks in Tashkent and a visit to Bukhara.

Uzbekistan will receive a $10.6mn World Bank grant to reduce natural gas leaks, repair Uztransgaz infrastructure and establish a financing mechanism that reinvests savings from reduced gas losses into further leak detection and repairs.

Uzbekistan commissioned 72 industrial and service projects and 91 social facilities worth over $4.2bn, expected to create 15,000 jobs and generate more than $84.5mn in additional annual budget revenues, while expanding energy, manufacturing, education and healthcare infrastructure across the country.