Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will continue his official visit to Tashkent with a scheduled meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The meeting will take place at the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan, following a productive first day of discussions with Uzbekistan's Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov. Together, they visited the Tashkent Technopark and the Victory Park memorial complex and participated in the fifth session of the joint commission at the level of heads of government from both countries.
Mishustin’s visit is focused on advancing the agreements reached during Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to Uzbekistan in May 2024, aimed at enhancing trade, economic, and cultural cooperation between the two nations.
Bilateral Relations
Uzbekistan is one of Russia's key economic partners within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2023, trade between the two countries reached $9.7 billion, an 11.5% increase from the previous year. Russian exports accounted for $6.7 billion, and imports from Uzbekistan totaled $3 billion. Russia remains the leading investor in Uzbekistan, with Russian capital investments amounting to $13.5 billion.
Interregional relations between Russia and Uzbekistan are also flourishing, with over 80 Russian regions engaging in trade and economic activities with Uzbekistan. Moscow, St. Petersburg, and regions like Tatarstan and Bashkortostan are among the most active. The two nations are working on over 50 interregional projects worth approximately $700 million, covering logistics, industry, and agriculture. These initiatives are further supported by the Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan, now rebranded as the Council of Regions of Russia and Uzbekistan, whose first meeting took place in May 2024.
Educational and Cultural Cooperation
In the realm of education, more than 63,000 Uzbek students are enrolled in Russian universities or their branches in Uzbekistan. This includes over 11,700 students studying on a free basis. Several prominent Russian universities have branches in Uzbekistan, including Plekhanov Russian Economic University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, among others. Currently, 14 Russian university branches are operational in Uzbekistan, with plans to open a new branch of Pirogov University in Tashkent.
Culturally, around 1 million ethnic Russians live in Uzbekistan, making up about 3% of the population. The Russian language, while not officially designated, continues to play an important role as a language of inter-ethnic communication. Russian remains widely used in media, education, and government documents. Initiatives to improve the quality of Russian language education in Uzbek schools are ongoing, with projects running until 2030.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS