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Expectation into reality: Uzbekistan will attract Russian investments in the tourism industry
Uzbekistan is working to attract Russian investments in the development of the tourism sector, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic told Izvestia. Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko held talks with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who will arrive in Moscow on May 9. Against this background, the European Union is trying to strengthen its position in the region, and the EU–Central Asia summit was recently held. Why Brussels needs cooperation with Tashkent — in the Izvestia article.
How are relations between Russia and Uzbekistan developing?
On April 7, Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko met with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The negotiations took place at the 150th anniversary Assembly of the Interparliamentary Union, which was held in Tashkent. The speaker of the Federation Council said that she had invited Shavkat Mirziyoyev to address the Federation Council at a convenient time for him. The President of Uzbekistan will arrive in Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.
"The presidents of our countries have developed very close, businesslike, interested, and trusting relations, which have set a high pace for bilateral cooperation. This gives very good results. The decisions of our presidents are being consistently implemented," said the Chairman of the Federation Council.
Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at a meeting in Tashkent, April 7, 2025
Uzbekistan is working on attracting Russian investments for the development of the tourism industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic told Izvestia.
— Cooperation with Russia in this area continues to strengthen. We welcome the growing tourist flow from Russia and are actively working to expand our bilateral cooperation. In this context, work is underway to attract investments, including Russian ones, in the development of tourism infrastructure," the country's diplomatic department stressed.
At the moment, the competent authorities and relevant organizations of Uzbekistan are maintaining a dialogue with Russian partners in various areas related to the development of tourism. Negotiations are underway on possible investment projects, including in the field of hotel business, transport infrastructure and tourism services.
—We are ready to consider promising initiatives that will further strengthen the tourism potential of our country," the Uzbek Foreign Ministry concluded.
Tourism development is just one of the areas where Russia and Uzbekistan cooperate. The trade turnover between the two countries has almost doubled in six years and exceeded $10 billion by the end of 2024, Konstantin Zlygostev, Russia's trade representative in the republic, said earlier. Today, Russia ranks second among Uzbekistan's trading partners after China. The share of the ruble in bilateral commercial transactions has reached 58% and continues to grow, Vladimir Putin said last May. Inter—regional cooperation is developing separately - more than 70 Russian regions cooperate with Uzbek regions. Although Tashkent is not a member of the EAEU, from 2021 to 2024, the country increased trade turnover with the members of the association by 60%.
The visit of the Russian President to Uzbekistan in May 2024 gave an impetus to the development of relations between the two countries. The parties signed 27 agreements, including a joint action plan to expand industrial cooperation and a contract for the construction of low-power nuclear power plants. Earlier, at the Russia–Central Asia summit in 2022, the countries of the region agreed to strengthen economic cooperation.
The Russian Federation and Uzbekistan have serious prospects for expanding cooperation. For example, the issue of building a nuclear power plant in the republic is being discussed, it is a long-term project for many years, says Stanislav Pritchin, head of the Central Asia Sector at the IMEMO RAS.
— Russia is becoming the main supplier of gas. Investment and trade cooperation is underway. We have a very busy agenda on all these issues," the expert noted.
Why does the European Union need Uzbekistan?
Against this background, the EU is seeking to strengthen its influence in the region. On April 3-4, the European Union–Central Asia summit was held in Samarkand with the participation of President of the European Council Antonio Costa, Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the presidents of five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The summit was originally scheduled to take place in 2024, but it was postponed due to last year's European Parliament elections and the subsequent change of EU leadership.
Holding the EU summit in Uzbekistan is a logical continuation of the country's active cooperation with international partners. Tashkent is interested in developing cooperation with both the European Union and Russia, as well as with other states and international organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic told Izvestia.
— Uzbekistan builds its foreign policy based on the principles of sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and a balance of interests. We see our task as building partnerships with all key actors in international politics, contributing to the development of sustainable, mutually beneficial cooperation in the region and the world," the Uzbek Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
In general, this summit is only part of the EU's efforts to strengthen ties with the countries of the region. In 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Uzbekistan, and in 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Tashkent. In March, European Commissioner Josef Sikela toured Central Asia. In particular, he managed to conclude agreements on satellite Internet for Central Asia (TEI Digital Connectivity), which involve connecting remote regions of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the Network.
The 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting was held in Ashgabat on March 27. Earlier in Astana, the parties signed a contract for €3 million for cooperation in the field of critical raw materials. In Tajikistan, the EU announced the allocation of €10 million for the development of education until 2030. After the start of the CBO and Europe's abandonment of Russian energy resources, Central Asia, with its rich natural resources, became particularly interesting to the EU.
Expansion and expansion is the philosophy of the European Union. Due to the lack of resources, Brussels is turning to the countries of the region: it buys oil from Kazakhstan, uranium from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and various metals. However, the EU is not going so smoothly with Central Asia, Stanislav Pritchin believes.
The European Union has a simple policy in Central Asia and other developing regions: they need to buy raw materials cheaper, with minimal obligations and overhead costs. Especially the "critical materials" prescribed in the documents of the EU and Britain. This is similar to the European colonial tradition — to sail in, drain resources and leave, Polina Becker, a political scientist and turkologist, told Izvestia.
— Besides, Central Asia is a springboard for them against Russia and China. NATO was kicked out of Afghanistan, but they want to see their air bases near the borders of our two states in order to exert military pressure," the expert stressed.
Unlike the EU, Central Asia is Russia's neighbors, not colonies. We cannot treat the interests of the people with whom we have the longest land border in the world like Europeans or Americans. Not to mention cultural and historical ties. Becker summarized: our projects in the region, in addition to the actual profit, are aimed not at the rapid extraction of raw materials and departure, but at the creation of real production facilities. So that there would be no refugee flows to us, but, on the contrary, there would be jobs and effective demand for our goods in Central Asia, from energy resources to agricultural machinery.
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