President Shavkat Mirziyoyev recently held an expanded meeting on January 15 to discuss the future direction of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic missions abroad.
The meeting came at a time of significant geopolitical shifts globally, prompting the need for a critical reassessment of the country’s foreign policy approach.
The President reflected on 2025 as a productive year for Uzbekistan’s international relations, noting high-level visits to 26 countries and historic first-time visits from several foreign leaders. The country has expanded its strategic partnerships to 19 nations total and established allied relationships with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan. Since 2017, Uzbekistan has opened 16 new diplomatic missions, bringing the total to 60, and now maintains diplomatic relations with 165 countries.
However, Mirziyoyev emphasized that the role of ambassadors must evolve beyond traditional political dialogue.
Modern ambassadors, he stressed, should be actively attracting investment and technology, opening export markets, establishing transport corridors, increasing tourism, facilitating legal labor migration, and protecting citizens’ rights abroad. He proposed that ambassadors be evaluated based on concrete metrics like export revenues from their host countries, tourist flow growth, and effectiveness in organizing legal labor migration.
The economic results from 2025 were impressive, with agreements totaling $160 billion signed, foreign trade turnover exceeding $80 billion for the first time, and exports reaching $33.5 billion. Yet the President pointed out areas needing improvement, particularly in economic diplomacy, reducing logistics costs, and better promoting Uzbek products in international markets.
He tasked ambassadors with expanding exports to the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa across various sectors including industry, agriculture, textiles, and greenhouses.
The President also criticized underutilization of international grant opportunities, noting that better coordination could have attracted an additional $200-300 million in grants last year alone. He called for more systematic approaches to accessing the approximately $200 billion in annual grant programs offered globally.
Other priorities included partnering with top-ranked foreign universities, strengthening regional cooperation in foreign economic relations, protecting citizens working abroad, and improving tourism promotion.
Mirziyoyev emphasized the need to move away from “office diplomacy” toward more direct engagement with citizens abroad and active field work. He also announced plans to update the country’s foreign policy concept to reflect long-term strategic goals and national interests in areas like economic diplomacy, security, investment, and climate issues. To recognize diplomatic achievements, he proposed establishing an honorary title of “Honored Diplomat of the Republic of Uzbekistan.”
The President concluded with a clear message that the time has arrived for a new generation of diplomats who deliver concrete results and firmly defend Uzbekistan’s interests on the international stage. /// nCa, 17 January 2026