Uzbekistan delegation arrived in Germany on a working visit. The visit is organized by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Berlin. The delegation includes ISRS representatives under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research under the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Development Strategy Center.

As part of the trip, the essence and significance of the ongoing policy of reforms in Uzbekistan, constitutional reforms, foreign policy approaches of Tashkent are explained, and ways of further development of mutually beneficial cooperation between Uzbekistan and Germany are discussed.

On March 14, experts from research centers of Uzbekistan met with Foreign Policy Adviser to the Federal President of Germany W. Silbermann, the Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation N. Lammert, the Regional Director of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy E. Kinsbruner, and others.

Views were exchanged on the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Germany in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres, security, as well as strengthening the inter-parliamentary dialogue.

The ISRS First Deputy Director A. Nematov noted that Germany is a time-tested and reliable partner in the EU for Uzbekistan. Tashkent and Berlin show mutual interest in further building up political dialogue at various levels, enhancing and deepening multifaceted cooperation.

Over the past three decades, relations between the two countries have been marked by a trusting dialogue, deep mutual understanding, and practical orientation. They have been gaining new momentum since 2017, and recently they have entered the trajectory of serious progressive development.

In January 2019, the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Germany took place, following which a solid package of documents was signed, consisting of more than 80 agreements in the economy, trade, finance, education, science and innovation. Already in May of the same year, German President F. Steinmeier paid a return visit to Uzbekistan.

Among European countries, Germany is the largest economic partner of Uzbekistan. Thanks to joint efforts, over the past 6 years, trade between the two countries has doubled – from almost 530 million dollars to 1.16 billion dollars. This is more than 26% of all trade between Uzbekistan and the EU, which amounts to 4.4 billion dollars.

German business is showing significant interest in investment cooperation with Uzbekistan. Compared to 2017, in 2022 the volume of assimilated German investments in the country doubled – from 700 million to 1.5 billion dollars.

There is a dynamic growth in Uzbekistan of enterprises with the participation of German capital. If in 2016 there were about 120 enterprises operating in the country, today their number has reached 212. Since 2016, such large companies as Siemens, BASF, Thyssen Group, Roland Berger, Adidas Group, Papenburg, Falk Porsche have entered the Uzbek market.

Berlin fully supports the reforms in Uzbekistan. The German partners highly appreciate the consistent policy of technological modernization and diversification of economic sectors.

Emphasizing the reforms initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Advisor to the Federal President of Germany W. Silbermann noted that the German political circles are watching with great interest the constitutional reforms in Uzbekistan, which give priority to the well-being of the people. According to him, due to fundamental changes, Germany’s strategic interest in cooperation with Uzbekistan is growing. “I am very impressed with the scale and responsibility of the change in Uzbekistan”, Mr. Zilbermann noted.

In turn, during a roundtable discussion with experts from the K. Adenauer Foundation, the Chairman of the organization, N. Lammert, stressed that the updated Constitution will certainly create a solid legal basis and a reliable guarantee for the long-term development of the country. Most importantly, according to the politician, the reforms should serve the interests of the people.

According to him, Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s domestic and regional policy pursued in recent years gives every reason for the successful completion of the reforms initiated in Uzbekistan to adapt the Constitution to the requirements of the time and its further improvement.

Speaking about the transformations in the country, Mr. Nematov noted that the ongoing constitutional reform in Uzbekistan is a call of the times and reflects the firm commitment of the country’s leadership to building a humane, democratic, legal, social and secular state, the formation of an open and fair civil society.

In fact, according to the ISRS representative, the constitutional reform should radically change the paradigm of thinking and principles of activity in the system of state and public administration, put the postulate “person – society – state” as the basis of relations in New Uzbekistan instead of the principle “state – society – person”. 

“The supporting structure of the process of a fundamental transformation of the system of state and public administration, launched by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in 2016, is to ensure respect, observance and protection of the honor and dignity of citizens, inalienable and inviolable human rights and freedoms, and the new constitution is designed to give a sustainable and irreversible character to this process”, the expert emphasized.

In turn, during a roundtable discussion with experts from the German Foundation for Science and Politics, the director of the foundation, S. Mair, noted that in the face of increasing challenges to the international order, cooperation with Tashkent “acquires a new necessity” and Berlin “firmly intends” to develop mutual relations between the two countries.

Senior Researcher of the Foundation A. Schmitz, referring to the regional policy of Tashkent, emphasized that the proactive cooperation of the countries of Central Asia is a “wise and far-sighted decision”. According to the German side, this contributes both to the internal stability of each of the states of the region, and to strengthening the potential for their influence outside the region. 

It should be noted that in Uzbekistan, where large-scale reforms are being carried out today in all areas, the experience of industrialized countries, especially Germany’s, is important.

In this regard, Tashkent is interested in further enhancing cooperation on the implementation of joint projects in sustainable development, launching new programs in digitalization, resource-saving technologies, as well as introducing advanced educational methods and innovations.

It is worth noting that the above areas for further strengthening Uzbekistan –Germany multifaceted relations are also one of the main priorities of the EU Global Gateway Strategy, which provides for large-scale measures for the infrastructure development of the Central Asian states, strengthening their connectivity and integration into international production and logistics chains and transport corridors.

The visit of Uzbek experts to Germany continues.

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