ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR UZBEKISTAN'S ECONOMY

This article examines the development of Uzbekistan’s foreign economic activity and its implications for economic diversification, productive capacity and external resilience. The research combines descriptive analysis of the National Statistics Committee’s final annual foreign trade turnover series for 2020–2024 with a critical review of academic and institutional literature. Foreign trade turnover increased from USD 36.26 billion in 2020 to USD 67.24 billion in 2024, an increase of 85.45%, while annual nominal growth slowed to 5.84% in 2024. These changes establish the scale and pace of trade expansion but do not independently demonstrate productivity improvements or a causal contribution to GDP growth. The article develops an analytical framework linking external transactions to domestic value creation through imported technology, export participation, supplier development and service-sector linkages. It argues that policy evaluation should combine trade values with export diversification, firm survival, logistics reliability and domestic value added. Recommendations focus on reducing trade costs, improving standards infrastructure, strengthening investment linkages and making export support measurable.