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.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A 35-year-old former rapper is on track to become Nepal’s next prime minister. Early counting in the elections on Friday (7 March) showed Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was leading in around 100 seats, far ahead of rivals.
Officials in Azerbaijan have said they have stopped terror attacks in Azerbaijan including on an Israeli Embassy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and a Synagogue. Tensions between regional and global powers escalate. Military activity, security alerts and travel disruptions continue.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices continue to rise, currently surpassing $119 a barrel this Monday, an almost four year high following fresh U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting oil depots. Stock markets shares slumped on fears the conflict with Iran could disrupt shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks on Iran on Saturday (7 March), while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to shoot down missiles in their airspace. Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would stop attacking its neighbours.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Türkiye’s official anti-disinformation agency has issued a statement refuting what it described as online “disinformation” and reiterating the strength of relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
Almost 2,000 people have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan since conflict erupted in the Middle East.
Kazakhstan has evacuated more than 7,300 citizens from the Middle East since regional tensions escalated, using both air and land routes to bring nationals home while closely monitoring political developments and potential economic effects linked to rising oil prices.
Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has appeared in court on Monday alongside 400 co-defendants in a sprawling corruption case that critics say is designed to derail his political ambitions. The charges allege a network of corruption and organised crime linked to the mayor’s office.
Russian grain is once again moving by rail to Armenia along a route that had been closed for decades. The latest freight train departed from Baku on 9 March carrying hundreds of tonnes of grain.
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