Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic: A visit that gave the relationship new practical substance

On 30 April, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s official visit to Uzbekistan concluded. The visit took place at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Talks were held at the Kuksaroy Residence in both contracted and plenary formats.

As a result, the two sides signed a Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Expanded Cooperation and a package of bilateral agreements covering economic, industrial, and scientific-technological cooperation, the training of diplomatic personnel, collaboration in geology and metrology, and the supply of electric trains.

It is worth noting that this was already the second visit by a Czech Prime Minister to Uzbekistan. In April 2023, Petr Fiala visited Tashkent. In October of the same year, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov made a reciprocal visit to Prague, where he met with Czech President Petr Pavel and signed an Interstate Declaration on Enhanced Cooperation. In September 2025, on the sidelines of the 80th-anniversary session of the United Nations General Assembly, Presidents Mirziyoyev and Pavel held a bilateral meeting and discussed specific projects in investment, innovation, transport, and agriculture. Such intensity of contacts at the highest level is rare in international diplomacy. It testifies that both sides regard their relationship not as a matter of protocol formality but as a genuine political priority.

The agenda of the current Uzbek-Czech talks was exceptionally substantive, covering several key areas, each of which merits separate consideration.

First – the expansion of trade, economic, and industrial cooperation. Over recent years, bilateral trade turnover has doubled, which is in itself a significant achievement. Nonetheless, both sides acknowledge that the figures achieved merely reflect the existing potential and do not come close to exhausting it.

Against this backdrop, the parties set a target to increase the volume of mutual trade to one billion US dollars, including by expanding the range of goods supplied. Uzbekistan already hosts 37 joint ventures with Czech capital participation, providing a solid, productive foundation for further development of the partnership.

The principal mechanism governing this process and opening new avenues for interaction is the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial, and Scientific-Technological Cooperation. Over the years of its operation, the Commission has held ten sessions, the most recent of which took place in Prague in March 2025.

To further stimulate trade, the first Uzbek certification branch in the Czech Republic is being established, while work is underway to build a Euro 6 vehicle certification laboratory and a quantum measurement standard – infrastructure facilities without which Uzbek products would face significant barriers to full access to European markets.

In parallel, an agreement has been reached with leading Czech companies to develop a Technology Cooperation Programme covering mechanical engineering, green energy, geology and critical raw materials, as well as chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the Czech Export Credit Insurance Corporation (EGAP) and the Czech Export Bank confirmed their intention to provide financial support for joint projects. To coordinate the overall economic agenda, a Business Council was established. The next session of the Intergovernmental Commission is scheduled to take place in Tashkent in August of the current year.

The Uzbek-Czech business forum, held on the eve of the visit and attended by the heads of government of both countries, served as a practical platform for giving the bilateral agenda concrete substance. More than 200 participants discussed prospects for deepening economic cooperation. Particular emphasis was placed on Uzbekistan’s GDP exceeding 145 billion US dollars in 2025 – a figure that is fundamentally transforming international investors’ perception of the country.

As a result, Czech companies are increasingly viewing Uzbekistan as a strategic springboard for access to Central Asian markets. The unique combination of dynamic growth, a young population, and a favorable geographical location makes the country one of the most attractive hubs on the Eurasian continent.

Following the forum, a package of cooperation agreements was signed covering mechanical engineering, infrastructure modernization, and education, and mechanisms for engagement with the Czech Export Bank and EGAP were formalized, providing for preferential lending and risk insurance for high-technology projects.

Second – high-technology cooperation in the transport sector, with the symbolic centerpiece being the signing of a contract to supply and maintain the first 10 Škoda Group electric trains. It should be stressed that the prospects of this project extend well beyond a simple equipment transaction. The plans include establishing a joint venture for local assembly and lifetime technical maintenance of rolling stock, as well as creating a Škoda Academy to train Uzbek specialists.

In this context, Škoda Group CEO Petr Novotný regards Uzbekistan as his company’s “number one target” outside Europe, believing that the results achieved there will open the door to markets across Central Asia. For Uzbekistan, in turn, this is not merely a technical upgrade but an opportunity to integrate into European production chains and build domestic technological competencies.

Third – cooperation in education, science, and cultural and humanitarian ties. In this domain, the Uzbek-Czech partnership has its deepest roots and the most enduring future. The number of Uzbek students enrolled at Czech universities has grown from about 350 in 2020 to between 600 and 700 today, predominantly in technical, economic, agricultural, and IT disciplines. The Czech government’s annual scholarship program for citizens of Uzbekistan provides an additional incentive.

Notably, direct contacts have been established at the inter-university level. The National University of Uzbekistan cooperates with Charles University and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the Tashkent Medical Academy maintains ties with Charles University’s First Faculty of Medicine, and several other leading institutions collaborate with Mendel University in Brno. The talks confirmed a mutual interest in expanding academic exchanges, including joint degree programs, which will open fundamentally new career horizons for students in both countries.

Also worth mentioning in this context is the scientific and archaeological dimension of bilateral ties. Since 2003, Termez State University has conducted a joint expedition with Charles University of Prague in Surkhandarya region. Over the past two decades, nine previously unknown Bronze Age sites and fourteen Early Iron Age monuments have been discovered, and maps and inventories of heritage sites across several districts have been compiled. This cooperation has continued despite changes in government and shifting political circumstances.

An equally significant aspect is the ongoing exploration of resuming direct air services between Tashkent and Prague. This matter may appear purely logistical at first glance, but in practice, it opens new opportunities for tourism, business, and academic contacts alike.

Also coming to the fore are the prospects for systematic cooperation in labor migration, reflecting the profound qualitative shifts taking place in the labor markets of both Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic.

In sum, assessing the outcomes of the visit, one can state with confidence that Uzbek-Czech relations are entering a qualitatively new phase of development. The intensive, high-level dialogue, underpinned by concrete economic initiatives, technological agreements, and institutional mechanisms, lays a solid foundation for a long-term strategic partnership.

The implementation of the agreements reached opens broad prospects for modernizing the Uzbek economy, developing high-technology industries, and strengthening human capital. For the Czech Republic, meanwhile, Uzbekistan is becoming not merely a trading partner but also a reliable gateway to one of the most dynamic regions of Eurasia.

Bakhtiyor Mustafayev,

Deputy Director,

Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan