Uzbekistan highlights Central Asia cooperation at UN General Assembly

Uzbekistan called for a more effective United Nations, presenting closer cooperation in Central Asia as an example of how dialogue can ease regional tensions.

Saida Mirziyoyeva, who has headed Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration since June 2025, delivered the country’s address to the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York.

She framed Tashkent’s foreign-policy approach around “openness, good-neighbourliness and dialogue”, adding that Uzbekistan stood for “peace, cooperation and respect for human dignity”.

“No country can solve global problems alone,” she told delegates.

“We need a UN that is capable not only of making decisions, but of implementing them.”

Uzbekistan backed an expansion of the UN Security Council and reiterated its candidacy for a non-permanent seat for 2035–2036.

The country is also due to chair the Non-Aligned Movement from 2027 to 2029, which Tashkent sees as another platform for international dialogue.

Central Asia and Afghanistan

The speech pointed to changes in relations among the five Central Asian states, where disputes over borders and water resources have complicated ties for decades.

“The situation and atmosphere in the region have completely changed,” Mirziyoyeva said, referring to closer cooperation between neighbouring governments.

On Afghanistan, she argued that viewing the country solely as a security threat would not solve its problems and that the Afghan population should not be left to deal with them alone.

At the first EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand in April 2025, European and Central Asian leaders expressed shared concern about security threats and possible spillover from Afghanistan into both Central Asia and Europe.

Domestic reforms, AI and human rights

The address also reviewed changes inside Uzbekistan over the past decade.

According to the figures presented, the economy grew from $50bn (€44bn) to $147bn (€129bn), while foreign investment exceeded $150bn (€131bn).

Mirziyoyeva put the poverty rate at 4% and said almost 10mn people had moved out of poverty.

She cited wider access to preschool and higher education, as well as improvements in health indicators, as part of the government’s reform record.

On artificial intelligence, she argued that technological development should remain linked to “human rights, security, equal opportunities and responsibility”.

Technology, she added, should improve people’s lives rather than create new forms of dependence.

The Aral Sea and the energy transition

Environmental issues centred on the Aral Sea, whose dramatic shrinkage remains one of Central Asia’s most serious ecological problems.

Mirziyoyeva described the disaster as the result of decisions taken over decades, pointing to water-saving technologies and efforts to restore degraded land.

She also set out Uzbekistan’s energy transition target, with the country aiming to raise the share of renewables to 54% by 2030.

The speech also referred to the UN-backed Decade of Action for Afforestation and Forest Restoration for 2027–2036, calling for international environmental initiatives to be translated into practical projects.

Meetings in New York

In New York, Mirziyoyeva met UN Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United Nations.

Talks with Google vice-president Karan Bhatia included the possible launch of YouTube monetisation in Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek side linked the discussion to recent changes in legislation on personal data processing and digital payments, which it says are creating wider access to international payment systems.

Mirziyoyeva also met Ben Black, chief executive of the US International Development Finance Corporation.

Their talks covered joint projects in transport and healthcare, with Uzbekistan expressing interest in expanding cooperation with the DFC.