A videoconference meeting chaired by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held to comprehensively review the country’s foreign policy priorities and to enhance the effectiveness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and overseas diplomatic missions.
Opening the meeting, the Head of State emphasized that the discussion was taking place amid sharp global geopolitical shifts and growing threats to state sovereignty. Under such conditions, he noted, it is essential to critically reassess foreign policy activities and reorganize the work of the Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions in line with new realities.
President Mirziyoyev stated that 2025 had been largely productive in terms of foreign policy outcomes. During the year, high-level visits were conducted to 26 foreign countries. For the first time in Uzbekistan’s modern history, official visits by the leaders of Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia, Serbia, Jordan, and Paraguay to Uzbekistan were organized.
Multilateral dialogues within the “Central Asia Plus” format yielded tangible results. Over recent years, strategic partnership relations were established with 11 countries, bringing their total number to 19. Alliance relations were strengthened with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan.
According to the President, as a result of an open, pragmatic, well-considered, and proactive foreign policy, Uzbekistan is increasingly positioning itself as one of the global centers of peace and diplomacy. Since 2017, 16 new diplomatic and consular missions have been opened abroad, increasing their total number to 60, while diplomatic relations have been established with 165 countries.
The meeting noted the expansion of staff numbers and salary increases for employees of embassies, consular institutions, missions to international organizations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, the President raised the issue of whether all diplomatic missions were fully utilizing the opportunities created.
It was stressed that there is only one criterion for assessing diplomatic performance — concrete results. In today’s environment, an ambassador is not merely a political representative but also a facilitator of investment and technology transfer, an advocate for export expansion, logistics corridors, tourism growth, legal labor migration, and, above all, the protection of Uzbek citizens’ rights abroad.
Accordingly, key performance indicators (KPIs) were introduced for ambassadors, including export revenues, tourist inflows, and the number of citizens sent to legal employment in host countries.
The President highlighted the importance of strengthening economic diplomacy to increase exports and attract investment. Economic diplomacy, he noted, directly contributes to job creation, higher incomes, improved living standards, and the enhancement of national economic security.
In 2025, within the framework of bilateral and multilateral engagements, agreements on investment projects and trade contracts totaling $160 billion were signed. For the first time in history, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover exceeded $80 billion, exports reached $33.5 billion, and foreign investment inflows surpassed $43 billion.
It was emphasized that exports to 75 countries increased by nearly $4.5 billion over the past year. The President underlined that closer cooperation between ambassadors, foreign investors, and major international companies could further boost these indicators.
Iraq was cited as an example of a promising market, as the country imports around $100 billion worth of goods annually due to limited domestic production. The visit of 150 major Iraqi companies to Uzbekistan was positively assessed, opening new opportunities for Uzbek manufacturers to enter Middle Eastern markets.
Ambassadors were instructed to apply a similar approach in working with Vietnam, Bahrain, and Portugal. Exports to Europe increased by 23 percent to $2.3 billion, although it was noted that some embassies had not yet achieved tangible results in promoting Uzbek products in these markets.
France was identified as a promising new export destination for Uzbekistan’s chemical industry. The diplomatic mission in France was tasked with studying fertilizer market requirements and standards and communicating them to chemical enterprises in the Fergana, Navoi, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent regions, as well as organizing sector-specific exhibitions.
Overall, a program was mandated to increase exports of mineral fertilizers to agriculturally advanced European countries. Spain’s achievements in agriculture under conditions of climate change and water scarcity were highlighted, particularly large-scale greenhouse complexes operating on solar energy.
The Ambassador to Spain was instructed to develop a program to transfer advanced agricultural technologies to Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions. In addition, through cooperation with the Netherlands-based “World Horti Center,” at least 100 Uzbek specialists are to be trained in modern greenhouse technologies.
The meeting also noted the formation of a strong class of large entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan. It was emphasized that the time has come to support the placement of their projects in promising foreign markets to accelerate access to new export destinations.
Qatar was highlighted as an example, where free economic zones offer attractive tax incentives and subsidies for utilities. Establishing production facilities for Uzbek companies in Qatar would enable duty-free access to the Gulf market with a population of approximately 60 million people.
Positive outcomes of cooperation with Egypt were highlighted, including projects in elite seed potato production, land reclamation in desert areas, manufacturing of pivot irrigation equipment, and plans to localize pharmaceutical production in Uzbekistan.
The President emphasized the importance of strengthening trade and economic cooperation with the African continent, which comprises more than 50 countries with a combined economic potential of $3 trillion. Relevant ministries and embassies were instructed to approve a dedicated roadmap.
Due to a twofold increase in logistics costs for deliveries to Europe, Poland was identified as a key gateway to European markets. The Ambassador was tasked with developing proposals to reduce transportation costs, including negotiations to open a dedicated corridor for Uzbek carriers at the Brest border checkpoint.
In addition, instructions were given to convene a meeting of the Uzbekistan–Romania Intergovernmental Commission, establish a trade house in Constanta, and double exports to Romania by 2026.
To promote Uzbekistan’s textile products in major importing countries, representative offices of the Agency for the Development of Light Industry will be established in the United States, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Poland. Together with embassies, efforts will focus on attracting at least 15 foreign sourcing companies and international brands, while introducing standards such as “Better Work,” “BCI,” and “Organic” at 100 local enterprises.
It was emphasized that ambassadors should be directly interested in identifying, attracting, and successfully implementing investment projects. A system of performance-based financial incentives will be introduced for ambassadors who complete projects to fruition.
For 2025, ambitious targets have been set to increase exports to $40 billion and attract $50 billion in investments. Each ambassador must analyze the comparative advantages of their host country and work toward clearly defined results in exports, investment, and technology transfer.
The meeting highlighted underutilized opportunities in attracting international grants. With more effective coordination between ministries, donors, and embassies, an additional $200–300 million in grants could have been secured. A new system for working with grants was therefore mandated, given that global donors allocate around $200 billion annually.
Ambassadors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, China, Japan, and Singapore were instructed to facilitate partnerships between Uzbekistan’s universities and leading foreign universities ranked in the global top 100.
Another priority task identified was securing high-income employment opportunities for Uzbek citizens abroad. While organized labor migration has expanded from 2–3 countries to more than 30, the performance of embassies in several countries, including Austria, France, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Saudi Arabia, was deemed unsatisfactory.
According to assessments, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway currently require around 300,000 workers. Norwegian employers are ready to train and certify 3,000 Uzbek citizens this year, while Sweden has proposed grant-funded training and employment for 500 social workers. Relevant agreements with Nordic countries are to be concluded urgently.
Special attention was given to protecting the rights of Uzbek citizens abroad. The President stressed that ambassadors and consuls must provide qualified legal assistance in every case, rather than limiting their response to formal diplomatic notes. A free call center for citizens facing difficulties abroad is to be established.
Diplomats were instructed to abandon “cabinet diplomacy” and actively engage with compatriots at construction sites, dormitories, and educational institutions to directly address their concerns.
The tourism sector was recognized as a strategically important and steadily growing branch of the economy. In 2024, the number of foreign tourists reached 11.5 million, while tourism exports amounted to $4.7 billion. By 2030, the goal is to increase tourist arrivals to 20 million.
Ambassadors were instructed to work more proactively with the Tourism Committee and attract major international outsourcing companies. Specific tasks were assigned to diplomatic missions in Russia, Belarus, South Korea, Germany, and the United States.
Positions of tourism and cultural advisors will be introduced at embassies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Russia, France, and China. With the introduction of a visa-free regime for U.S. citizens, embassies were tasked with doubling tourist inflows from the United States this year.
The meeting also addressed the expansion of political and diplomatic relations and the enhancement of Uzbekistan’s international standing. Uzbekistan will chair the Non-Aligned Movement in 2027–2029 and has nominated its candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for 2035–2036.
The President emphasized the importance of early and thorough preparation for high-level visits, strengthening the strategic analysis and planning capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and revitalizing cooperation with countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Particular emphasis was placed on revitalizing the activities of the “Dunyo” Information Agency, establishing systematic cooperation with leading international PR companies and media outlets, and regularly communicating Uzbekistan’s foreign policy initiatives through international press conferences and interviews.
Finally, the President noted that it is time to adopt a new approach to cooperation with foreign embassies and international organizations operating in Uzbekistan by inviting them to regions, reviewing joint projects on the ground, and jointly developing proposals for new initiatives.