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Uzbekistan has established the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council to enhance trade, industrial cooperation, and investment between the two countries.
The decision, formalised by presidential decree on 12 November 2025, follows President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Washington from 4 to 6 November 2025.
Council Objectives and Mechanisms
The decree states that the council aims to unite major American and Uzbek companies and facilitate long-term business partnerships. It will act as a platform for identifying promising projects, promoting industrial collaboration, and ensuring transparent investment mechanisms.
The council will also support the development of export-oriented industries, including energy, mining, and manufacturing. As part of its structure, it will work alongside a newly created Investment Fund for American-Uzbek Projects, formed jointly with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). This fund will finance priority ventures in energy, infrastructure, and digital transformation.
Additionally, a dedicated Working Group on Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation will operate under the council to simplify trade procedures and improve market access for Uzbek goods. The council’s headquarters will be based in Tashkent, with representation in Washington, D.C.
Strategic Agreements Signed
During President Mirziyoyev’s recent visit to the U.S. for the C5+1 Summit, several significant commercial agreements were concluded. Uzbekistan plans to import 100,000 tonnes of American cotton and 2 million tonnes of soya beans over the next three years under contracts between UzSanoatExport and Cargill. The imports aim to improve the quality of Uzbek textile production to meet international standards.
In the mining sector, the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources signed a partnership with Denali Exploration Group and a $1 billion memorandum with Traxys to jointly explore and process critical minerals, including wolfram and molybdenum.
From 1 January 2026, Uzbek residents will be permitted to undertake investment operations in the U.S. without restriction. Officials note that this measure will help diversify the economy, strengthen the private sector, and attract sustainable foreign investment.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported a significant movement of U.S. military aircraft towards the Middle East in recent hours. Dozens of U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling tankers and heavy transport aircraft were observed heading eastwards, presumably to staging points in the region.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Iran’s chief justice has warned protesters there will be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic”, as rights groups reported a rising death toll during what observers describe as the country’s biggest wave of unrest in three years.
Two people have been killed after a private helicopter crashed at a recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region, Russian authorities and local media have said.
"Change is coming to Iran" according to U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday (6 January). He warned Iran that "if you keep killing your people for wanting a better life, Donald Trump is going to kill you."
Power has been fully restored to a neighbourhood in Berlin after an arson attack triggered a blackout that lasted more than four days — the second such incident in the city since September.
A U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis on Wednesday, local and federal officials said, amid an expanded immigration enforcement operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the United States to target Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, with an operation similar to the recent U.S. action that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will stop defence contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until weapons production speeds up, criticising the industry for delays and high costs.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet Danish leaders next week, signalling that Washington is not retreating from President Donald Trump’s stated goal of acquiring Greenland, despite mounting concern among European allies.
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