What does the multi-vector policy of Uzbekistan look like?

Exclusive. Tashkent continues the skillful multi-vector policy it has followed since leaving the CSTO in 1999. True, later this course of the late Islam Karimov resulted in destructive self-isolation, which was interrupted only in 2017, when the next president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, took the helm and returned it to its original meaning. So, on the one hand, Uzbekistan is intensifying the industrialization of the country, using European, Chinese and Arab partners for this.

In particular, the Uzbek company Sanoat Energetika Guruhi, Gallaaral Management (Saneg) together with the leading Slovak industrial group AZC Orbis Invest will start the production of railway freight cars. The enterprise will be located on the territory of the Gallaaral special industrial zone in the Jizzakh region, according to a press release provided by Saneg. The partners signed a memorandum of understanding on June 25. Viktor Boretsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic to Uzbekistan, was also present at the ceremony.

Next, on June 27, from the assembly line of the BYD Uzbekistan Factory for the production of hybrid and electric cars in the Jizzakh region The first electric car arrived. The event was timed to coincide with the visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the head of BYD Wang Chuanfu to the company. Mirziyoyev left his autograph on the "firstborn", reports the press service of the head of state.

The Uzbek-Chinese joint venture started working in January of this year. Almost two kilometers of railway tracks were laid for it, a component warehouse and a logistics center for 1,2 thousand containers were built. Modern equipment and robotic systems from China are installed at the plant. The production process is automated. A laboratory for high-precision checking of the geometric dimensions of electric cars has been created. 1200 people work at the enterprise. Now two models are produced here - the BYD Chazor sedan and the BYD Song Plus Champion DM-i crossover. In the coming years, the model range will expand. "For now, stamping, welding and painting of bodies are arranged in Jizak, and most of the components are supplied from China, - writes Autostrada.uz. The level of localization will be gradually increased. First of all, they will set up the production of bumpers, glasses, varnished and plastic parts. In the future, the production of batteries, electric motors, aluminum parts, tires and seats is planned.

Finally, the recent arms exhibition demonstrates that Uzbek business is also interested in this newly fashionable industry. From May 2 to 4, Tashkent hosted the first public exhibition of the defense industry and military equipment of its own production MSITF-2024 (Festival of innovative technologies in the field of defense).

Among them are armored vehicles under the Aksum VPK brand. From 2021, their serial and piece production will be developed by the group of Uzbek businessman Ulugbekhon Maksumov, who started business in the defense industry in the United Arab Emirates in 2008.

Today, the Aksum Marine VPK plant, which produces armored boats and special-purpose boats, also operates in Uzbekistan. Presented at the exhibition in Tashkent, a small-sized armored boat with an engine capacity of up to 750 horsepower is capable of ramming and, without being damaged, goes out onto the coastal rocks to unload the landing party.

Other armored vehicles at the exhibition are large-capacity Tarlon and Qalqon ("Shield") convoys, serially produced by the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan from 2021. Various experimental models were also presented inside the amphitheater. For example, the Shayon ("Scorpion") ATV armed with machine guns. A significant part of the MSITF-2024 exposition was drones and unmanned aerial vehicles of the extensive Lochin (Sokol) UAV family created in Uzbekistan. They can be used for both military and civilian tasks.

Of course, not all UAV components are produced in Uzbekistan. Roughly speaking, electronics are mostly bought in China. But it is programmed and specialized for specific tasks by specialists of the scientific and production center created under the Ministry of Defense of the Central Asian Republic. Serial assembly of drones and quadrocopters has been established at the Chirchik Aviation Repair Plant. Many samples of small arms, uniforms and protective suits, medical instruments and rations were also presented at MSITF-2024. Pilaf was also here - only in canned form. Military specialists in Uzbekistan believe that a soldier's ration should be not only high-calorie and healthy, but also habitual.

However, the delicious Uzbek pilaf is greedily watched by the eyes of the former northern metropolis, which still managed to enter Uzbekistan, having achieved the signing and launch of the contract for the construction of the ASMM (small power nuclear power plant) between Uzatom and Rosatom. And meanwhile, it is known about Rosatom that it is the largest modern laundering office of the Kremlin regime, in which Russian special services graze in foreign projects. So, apparently, in this regard, Tashkent made a mistake, although the management of "Uzatoma" speaks of a pragmatic decision. However, by the time when at least something is built, major changes may occur around the Russian Federation and in it itself. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to two other processes in the country. Namely, the celebration of the 30th anniversary of relations with the European Union, which, it turns out, is still - or again - financing many projects in Uzbekistan. And also - the resumption (formally since 2017) of negotiations on Uzbekistan's membership in the WTO, which were interrupted after the tragic events in Andijan. Discussions on this issue in the country are boiling in exactly the same way as in other post-Soviet and post-socialist countries - whether the membership of the national producer will not be affected, and so on (experience shows that it is not likely), what are the priorities, and so on. So far, agreements have been signed only with a couple of dozen states. So, in this sense, Uzbekistan has a long road ahead of it - on which both Russia and its neighbors, and rather, China as a whole, will set up ambushes - but the trouble has just begun.

Anvar Rakhimovanalyst Candidacy Assessment Institute (CAI), Tashkent, for Newsky