PARTNER-ATLAS

UZBEKISTAN

as a partner for the security and stability of Europe, its neighbourhood, and other regions of the world

01 — Die Leitfragen zum Partner Atlas

RELEVANCE: What is Uzbekistan’s relevance for Germany in terms of ensuring security and stability in Europe, neighbouring countries and other regions of the world?

Since the end of 2016, Uzbekistan has been pursuing a course of liberalisation and opening. Comprehensive five-year development strategies are being implemented, including reform plans for security policy and foreign policy. Uzbekistan pursues a multilateral and proactive foreign policy. 

The country’s new development strategy envisages closer cooperation and good relations with its neighbours, including cross-border projects designed to expand this cooperation. The aim is to create a belt of security, stability and good neighbourly relations all around the country. Provisions in Uzbekistan’s current defence doctrine from 2019 renounce the production and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as membership in military-political organisations, and preclude the stationing of foreign military bases on its territory. 

Uzbekistan views active participation in international cooperation as well as integration into European, Asian and other international institutions as important goals of its foreign policy. The country is a member of more than 100 different international organisations and is a party to over 200 multilateral treaties. Among them are the OSCE, the Non-Aligned Movement and Interpol. 

Uzbekistan also attaches great importance to cooperation formats with the WHO, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. The country’s involvement in multilateral forums could be further boosted, for example, by the cooperation agreement with the EU, which has yet to be signed. This would significantly improve trade conditions and consequently contribute to the liberalisation of Uzbekistan’s foreign trade regime. Uzbekistan has participated in NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme since 1994. The Uzbek government considers NATO an important partner in countering current security threats, advocates cooperation with NATO, and wants to expand military-technical cooperation with foreign partners. 

The greatest threat to national and, by extension, regional security is currently posed by religious extremism and terrorism entering the country from Afghanistan and other neighbouring states. Radical Islamic groups within Uzbekistan that question the secular model of society and thus stability and social peace are also a security risk for the country. To date, Uzbekistan has managed to contain Islamist pressure. Since the country wields considerable influence in Central Asia and moreover shares borders with all states in the region, destabilisation in Uzbekistan would affect the entire region. Instability in Central Asia would in turn pose major challenges for Germany and the EU.

WILLINGNESS: To what extent is Uzbekistan willing to cooperate with Germany to realise the two countries’ common interests?

Uzbekistan is the most important player in Central Asia when it comes to both economic and security considerations. Regional stability in Central Asia would be simply inconceivable without its involvement. Due to the country’s importance from an economic and political standpoint and in terms of transport logistics, the establishment of a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Uzbekistan promises to have a positive impact on the entire region. One of the aims of neighbourly cooperation, including in the context of cross-border projects, is to achieve greater unity on foreign policy issues among the states of Central Asia. A united and stable Central Asia will allow the EU and Germany to confidently partner with the region in many areas, including the consolidation of international security and stability. Both bilateral platforms and multilateral dialogue formats such as “EU-Uzbekistan” can contribute to this goal. In his inaugural speech in November 2021, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that Uzbekistan will strive to increase cooperation with Germany and to benefit from Germany’s experience in numerous areas, from the agricultural sector to the automotive industry.

STATUS QUO: How close is Germany and Uzbekistan’s current cooperation in this area?

Uzbekistan played a key role in the international community’s evacuation efforts when NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021. A domestic terminal at Tashkent Airport was made available to Germany for the evacuation of nationals and persons seeking protection. This significantly raised Uzbekistan’s profile in the world as a reliable partner. 

Germany is currently funding the project “Preventing Violent Extremism in Central Asia” through the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Another German initiative is dedicated to addressing the consequences of climate change for regional security in Central Asia. The focus is on stronger regional cooperation among the five Central Asian states and Afghanistan.

POTENTIAL: What is the potential for strengthening the partnership between Germany and Uzbekistan in this area?

Great potential exists in regard to both the country itself and regional interaction. Intergovernmental talks between Uzbekistan and Germany take place on a regular basis, most recently in May 2021. The priorities of German-Uzbek development cooperation include healthcare, vocational training, the promotion of entrepreneurship, digitalisation, the expansion of export potential, the development of the Aral Sea region, the fight against corruption and the observance of human rights. Uzbekistan is working on fundamental reforms in the latter area and has adopted a National Strategy for Human Rights. For the first time in its history, the country was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2021 to 2023. 

Uzbekistan is aware that it faces an important geopolitical decision. On the one hand, there are plans for in-depth social and state reform as well as closer relations with the West, but on the other, Russia continues to be regarded as the country’s chief trading partner. The latest wave of economic sanctions against Russia therefore has far-reaching consequences for Uzbekistan as well. The situation of the numerous migrant workers in Russia is deteriorating day by day, and remittances are strongly affected by the depreciation of the ruble. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan continues to rely on trade with Russia. It is also becoming apparent that Moscow, in its search for ways to circumvent the sanctions and save its economy from collapse, will be investing more in Central Asia, which could prove to be a boon for Uzbekistan. The country will not let this opportunity go to waste. Against this backdrop, Uzbekistan, which aspires to a multilateral and neutral foreign policy, will neither turn away from Russia nor abandon its burgeoning partnership with the Western world. China is equally important as Uzbekistan’s second largest trading partner after Russia. Within its Belt and Road Initiative and a series of telecommunications and infrastructure projects, Beijing is pushing forward with its strategy of penetrating the Central Asian region and creating relationships of dependency.

POLICY RECOMMENDATION: What in German foreign policy has to change in order to fully exploit this potential?

Uzbekistan is fundamentally committed to democratic, constitutional and secular principles, and advocates the strengthening of human rights and individual freedoms. Efforts at greater integration among the countries of Central Asia have failed thus far for various reasons. The security situation in the region – made volatile by the change of power in Afghanistan, the unrest in neighbouring Kazakhstan in January 2022, and the armed conflict on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border – is liable to be taken advantage of by other interested stakeholders in order to expand their influence in the region. Uzbekistan is undoubtedly an important security partner in Central Asia. In view of the domestic tensions and conflicts over the past years, Uzbekistan’s role as an anchor of stability should be strengthened and its reform projects supported. Russia and China, both with multiple economic activities in all Central Asian countries, are concerned solely with economic dominance. Germany, by contrast, could work to strengthen its developmental support in Uzbekistan and also seek proactive participation in transport, logistics and energy projects that the country wishes to implement in Afghanistan. As a counterweight to the ever-growing Russian and Chinese influence, Germany, the economically strongest member state of the EU, can contribute both to the development of each individual country and to regional cooperation in Central Asia as a whole through country-specific and also cross-border economic, political and infrastructural projects. Only a more active security and development policy commitment on Germany’s part can in the long term counteract the risk of failure of existing cooperation formats and thus bolster German-Uzbek relations. 

Ronny Dirk Heine heads the KAS regional programme for Central Asia, based in Tashkent/Uzbekistan.

UZBEKISTAN

  • Population: 34.437.655
  • Capital: Taschkent

02 — Die Region

Asia and the Pacific

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TAIWAN

Taiwan has developed into a leading market-economy power for prosperity and innovation in the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturers, led by global market leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), have a global market share in the foundry market of 67 percent (2020) and are irreplaceable as chip suppliers for German industry in the medium term. Taiwan’s added value, like Germany’s, is driven by foreign trade.

  • Population: 23.900.000
  • Capital: Taipeh
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PR CHINA

Today, climate protection is an integral part of German foreign policy. In this context, Germany considers China’s role in international climate policy to be particularly important. China is both the world’s largest emitter of CO2 and largest consumer of coal. On the other hand, China’s expansion of renewable energies is unrivalled anywhere else in the world. If China succeeds in rapidly driving forward the energy transition it has already initiated, this will not only directly impact the global CO2 balance sheet but will also have a signal effect on other countries. Cooperation with China on environmental and climate policy thus helps protect global public assets.

  • Population: 1.450.233.966
  • Capital: Peking
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JAPAN

For Germany, Japan is one of the most important partners in Asia, in terms of economic relations and common values. In addition to the determination to maintain and enhance the multilateral order together, there is also the desire for closer cooperation in future technologies. Japan and Germany face similar challenges, particularly with regard to the future of manufacturing and the demographic development of their societies.

  • Population: 126.476.461
  • Capital: Tokyo
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UZBEKISTAN

Since the end of 2016, Uzbekistan has been pursuing a course of liberalisation and opening. Comprehensive five-year development strategies are being implemented, including reform plans for security policy and foreign policy. Uzbekistan pursues a multilateral and proactive foreign policy. 

  • Population: 34.437.655
  • Capital: Taschkent
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PAKISTAN

Pakistan is a country of origin, a destination, and a transit country for those fleeing or migrating. In its region, Pakistan is one of the largest countries of origin for migrant workers, the great majority of whom (96 percent) are concentrated in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

  • Population: 229.545.115
  • Capital: Islamabad
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JAPAN

Japan is one of Germany’s most important partners in values in the Asia-Pacific region. The two countries are closely linked, politically, economically and societally. In addition to their desire to work together to maintain and refine the multilateral, rule-based order, they hope to work even more closely together at a security policy level.

  • Population: 126,476,461
  • Capital: Tokyo
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INDIA

Germany has a vital interest in maintaining and consolidating a world order based on the values of liberal democracy and on the centrality of the United Nations (UN). Given the USA’s global withdrawal, which the coronavirus pandemic has made even more evident, Germany needs to pursue this goal together with other international partners. With the Indo-Pacific Guidelines that were released in September 2020, the Federal Government expressly commits itself to this task in the region that is taking centre stage in the 21st century. India’s importance can hardly be overestimated in this respect: India is already the largest democracy in the world, and within the 2020s, it will replace China as the most populous country. Like Germany, the subcontinent at the Indo-Pacific interface is dependent on a solid security structure, an open trading system, and free navigation in international waters. India is especially severely affected by the consequences of global warming due to its vulnerable ecosystems and is reliant on multilateral approaches to solve this global problem.

  • Population: 1,380,004,385
  • Capital: New Delhi
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AFGHANISTAN

When the Partner Atlas was first developed (2019), Afghanistan was chosen as the fifth country of the region Asia and Pacific. The seizure of power by the Taliban in the summer of 2021, however, makes it currently impossible to think about deepening cooperation with the new government in the area of migration.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation will keep working on Afghanistan within the framework of its regional programme on Southwest Asia. Please visit the website of the Department Asia and Pacific (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung – Europäische und Internationale Zusammenarbeit (kas.de)) as well as our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for the latest information and analyses.

  • Population: 38,928,346
  • Capital: Kabul
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KAZAKHSTAN

Pursuing a multi-vector policy, the country’s leadership has built close economic and political ties to its big neighbours Russia and China, but also to the US and the European Union as well as to the Arab world, Turkey, South Corea, Iran and others. By now, Kazakhstan has also established diplomatic relations to many countries in Africa and South America. For Kazakhstan, there is no alternative to its multi-vector policy, especially in light of the current war in Ukraine.

  • Population: appr. 19 million
  • Capital: Nur-Sultan
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VIETNAM

Vietnam is one of the few communist countries. A “socialist-oriented market economy” determines the country’s economic status, the communist party vigorously enforces its claim to total power, and the country is subject to fierce criticism in reports on human rights. At the same time, more than three decades of economic growth and political stability have led to Vietnam establishing itself as an influential player in Southeast Asia. 

  • Population: 95,529,003
  • Capital: Hanoi
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