Uzbekistan Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in uzbekistan, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Investment Climate Statement
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The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements help U.S. companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climates of more than 170 countries and economies.  They are prepared by our embassies and consulates around the world and analyze each economy’s openness to foreign investment.  Topics include:

  • Openness to, and Restrictions upon, Foreign Investment,

  • Investment and Taxation Treaties,

  • Legal Regime,

  • Industrial Policies,

  • Protection of Property Rights,

  • Financial Sector,

  • State-owned Enterprises,

  • Corruption,

  • Labor Policies and Practices,

  • Political and Security Environment, and

  • U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs

Each statement provides a starting point for U.S. firms and offers a point of contact at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

These reports are also a resource for foreign governments to create business environments that ensure fair treatment for the United States and our companies and investors. 

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a dynamically developing lower-middle income economy in the heart of Central Asia. The Government of Uzbekistan (“the government” or “the GOU”) views foreign direct investments as critical for achieving the ambitious goals of Uzbekistan’s development policy – eradicating poverty and entering the category of upper middle-income countries by 2030. And while much remains to be done to turn this previously isolated and highly centralized economy into a haven for investors, Uzbekistan has the potential to become one of the region’s economic leaders thanks to a huge and fast-growing domestic market of 37 million people, an abundance of various natural resources, and a relatively developed infrastructure. Uzbekistan is receiving closer attention from U.S. investors than it has to date.

Continued GOU efforts to ensure stable economic growth through attracting investment and diversifying foreign trade, stimulating domestic consumption, increasing welfare through creating sustainable jobs, and following a balanced monetary policy, have kept Uzbekistan relatively insulated from external geopolitical factors. The country’s leadership encourages local government administrations to do more to attract foreign direct investment and increase the role of the private sector in line with major liberalization reforms launched in 2017. As a result, in 2023 the economy registered 6 percent GDP growth and received over $7.2 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI), nearly double the amount in 2022. The GOU initiates and in many cases provides financing for numerous development programs, primarily in energy, mining, and export-oriented manufacturing industries, which attracts foreign business and creates a good environment for public-private partnerships. However, the GOU’s policy of managing investment flows through granting incentives on a case-by-case basis and providing selective support slows the progress of general reforms aimed at improving the business environment overall.

In 2023-2024, the government finally began a long-expected liberalization of energy tariffs, which had been postponed since 2019 due to the pandemic and political timing considerations. The reform is critical for attracting investment for the modernization of outdated energy infrastructure and to overcome chronic energy shortages, which curb economic growth. Along with that, the country continues to attract FDI to build renewable energy power generating capacity, confidently approaching the goal of bringing the share of green energy up to 30 percent by 2030. Another current challenge is diversifying foreign trade and investment. Historically, Russia has been Uzbekistan’s largest external market and the main source of its FDI. But after Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Uzbekistan formally committed to adhering to U.S. and EU sanctions and trade restrictions on Russia. Uzbekistan is not a member of either the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) or the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and is actively seeking to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Although Uzbekistan’s ambitious economic development goals have created new trade and investment opportunities for U.S. firms, the support of the host country government continues to be critical for sustainable business success. The government welcomes investment and public-private partnerships in infrastructure modernization programs, mining, and transportation sector development projects, as well as in projects that align with its import-substituting and export-oriented industrialization policy. Usually, the GOU issues a list of such projects as part of its annual investment program. Investors and businesses left off of the list often must rely on the goodwill of local government administrations.

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website

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