The governments of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have launched a new visa-free border trade zone at Shavat–Dashoguz that allows mutual visa-free movement for their citizens.
The move underscores Uzbekistan’s broader drive this year to liberalise entry rules and attract foreign visitors and investment.
The six-hectare border trade and service, permits citizens of both countries to enter without a visa for short-term stays, including trade and tourism activities.
The zone includes customs and warehouse infrastructure and is intended to enhance regional commerce and cross-border mobility.
As part of its 2025 entry-policy reforms, Uzbekistan enacted a mutual visa-free regime with China effective 1 June 2025, allowing citizens of each country to stay for up to 30 days.
In October 2025 the government introduced a 30-day visa-free regime for citizens of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, and extended the Chinese visa-free stay period from seven days to 30 days.
In addition to that, a Presidential decree issued in November confirmed that U.S. citizens will be eligible for visa-free entry to Uzbekistan for up to 30 days from 1 January 2026.
Officials describe the visa changes as a deliberate strategy to position Uzbekistan as an open destination for tourism, business and foreign direct investment.
The border zone with Turkmenistan is expected to boost trade in goods and services between the two countries, and the expanded visa-free regimes aim to attract new visitors from Asia, the Middle East and North America.
Analysts note that simplifying entry contributes to infrastructure investment, hospitality growth and increased regional connectivity.
Uzbek authorities are simultaneously working to streamline customs, border-service processes and transport links to handle the expected rise in cross-border flows. The Turkmen-Uzbek zone is presented as the first phase of a larger programme of border-economic cooperation.
The government plans to continue negotiating visa facilitation with more countries and to adjust stay-durations and processing times accordingly.
Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its pause on strikes, but Tehran remains sceptical of U.S. intentions, a senior ...
Firefighters battled on Sunday to contain wildfires threatening the outskirts of Bordeaux, as authorities expanded evacuation orders and warned the bl...
Rescue teams were searching on Sunday for 17 people still missing after a Vietnamese cargo ship sank in the South China Sea, with 45 crew members resc...
Russian authorities said 11 people, including four children, had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately targeting civilians.
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
Six candidates vying to become the next United Nations Secretary-General have called for restoring the organisation's credibility, strengthening multilateralism and reforming the UN, during the first public town hall debate ahead of a decisive Security Council vote next week.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 25th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto recently offered the dismissed Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Federov an adviser role in Italy.
A new state agency wants the world to take Georgian food as seriously as Georgians already do.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have signed regional and commercial agreements worth more than 80 billion tenge ($146 million). The deals aim to expand cooperation between the two Central Asian neighbors in trade, transport, industry and cross-border development.
UN Secretary General António Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for the first trip to Syria by a serving United Nations' chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
More than 100 Afghan business representatives travelled to Uzbekistan this week for a business forum aimed at expanding trade and investment, as Uzbek investors also expressed interest in Afghanistan’s mining sector.
Kazakhstan's grain sector faces a difficult season as drought reduces harvest prospects while mounting security risks in the Black Sea threaten to redirect cheaper Russian grain into Central Asian markets.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment