GLOBAL ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND THE FOREIGN POLICY OF UZBEKISTAN: NEW CORRIDORS, PARTNERS, AND INSTITUTIONS

This paper examines how the current transformation of the global economy shapes the foreign policy of Uzbekistan, the most populous state of Central Asia and one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world. Building on the broader argument that economic fragmentation, the rerouting of Eurasian trade, and the demand for new supply chains have raised the strategic value of Central Asia, the paper focuses on how one state converts these changes into concrete foreign policy. It identifies three directions in which Uzbekistan has responded. First, connectivity: the country has become a driving force behind two major railway projects, the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan line and the Trans-Afghan corridor toward Pakistani ports, both of which reduce its dependence on northern routes through Russia. Second, institutional integration: Uzbekistan is completing its long-delayed accession to the World Trade Organization and has signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union while keeping only observer status in the Eurasian Economic Union. Third, diversification of great-power ties, seen in the deepening partnership with China, the unprecedented package of agreements with the United States in 2025, and Uzbekistan’s leading role in regional formats. The paper concludes that Uzbekistan has moved from being the most closed economy of the region to one of the most active users of the new economic geography, although its strategy remains exposed to security risks in Afghanistan, financing constraints, and great-power rivalry.