bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has won a third term that will keep him in charge of the tightly controlled, gas-rich Central Asian state until 2030, the electoral commission said on Monday.
The 65-year-old has promised to open up Uzbekistan to foreign investment and tourism and implement major reforms in Central Asia’s most populous country.
Mirziyoyev, who was running against three largely unknown candidates, won Sunday’s election with 87 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results.
A former Soviet republic, Uzbekistan is strategically located between Russia and China and shares a border with Afghanistan.


Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated him on a “convincing electoral victory” on social media.
The win “confirms your high political authority and points to the broad, popular support for your policy of large-scale reforms,” he wrote.
The two also spoke on the phone and discussed their “strategic partnership”.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping also congratulated Mirziyoyev in a phone call.
“Xi Jinping pointed out, in recent years, under our joint leadership, China-Uzbekistan relations have achieved breakthrough development, and cooperation in various fields has been comprehensively strengthened,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
Xi told Mirziyoyev he “very much cherishes the good working relationship and personal friendship with you”, CCTV added.
In May, Xi hosted Mirziyoyev and other Central Asian leaders for a summit in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an.
Mirziyoyev previously served as prime minister under his hardline predecessor Islam Karimov before winning his first term in 2016 and getting re-elected in 2021.

A constitutional referendum this year paved the way for him to serve two more presidential terms and increased the mandate from five years to seven, meaning he could stay in power until 2037.
Mirziyoyev, who trained as an engineer, portrays himself as a reformer creating a “New Uzbekistan” and has said he wants to double gross domestic product to US$160 billion soon.
He focused his re-election campaign on the economy and education.
He has ended the practice of forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields and released political prisoners jailed during Karimov’s quarter-century rule.
NGOs say human rights are better than under Karimov but there is still much to improve, and the authorities have shown no sign of allowing a real opposition to emerge.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the campaign has been “low-key, mirroring lack of opposition to the incumbent”.
In July 2022, protests erupted over a plan to remove the right to self-determination from the region of Karakalpakstan.
The unrest and subsequent crackdown in the poor northwestern territory left at least 21 people dead.


Afghanistan-Pakistan border closure leaves thousands stranded: ‘we miss our parents’

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Muslim businesses in China target Malaysia as global halal gateway

China’s mega expressway tunnel opens in Xinjiang, halves north-south travel time

Central Asia

Uzbekistan president cements power with election win

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. File photo: Reuters

In May, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Shavkat Mirziyoyev and other Central Asian leaders for a summit in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an. Photo: AFP

China urges US to live up to Afghanistan commitment as Qin Gang continues Central Asia push on Uzbekistan visit

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Tashkent this week. Photo: AFP

Swiss court helps UK investigation into late Uzbek ruler’s daughter

Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s late president Islam Karimov in Chirchik, outside the Uzbek capital near Tashkent in 2012. Photo: AFP 

Former Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 2015. File photo: AP

Thousands wounded and five dead in rare Uzbekistan protests: reports

An Uzbek police officer guards a street in Nukus, capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, Uzbekistan on Sunday. Photo: KUN.UZ / Handout via Reuters

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Nukus, capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, Uzbekistan on Sunday. Photo: Press Service of President of Uzbekistan / Handout via Reuters

An Uzbek service member guards a street in Nukus, capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, Uzbekistan on Sunday. Photo: KUN.UZ / Handout via Reuters 

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

Shavkat Mirziyoyev called a snap election after a referendum paved the way for him to serve two more terms
Mirziyoyev, who has lead Uzbekistan since 2016, has opened up the country to foreign trade and investment


Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has won a third term that will keep him in charge of the tightly controlled, gas-rich Central Asian state until 2030.
