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Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia has become multilevel and multifaceted, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the plenary session of the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Addressing Russian President Putin and the entire hall of attending delegates, he stated that “To Uzbekistan, Russia is not just a neighbour in the region but a strategic partner and an ally that has stood the test of time. Our relations today have entered a new era. Cooperation has become multilevel and multifaceted. Our two countries have developed from regular trade in goods to the formation of production chains, technological alliances, joint design and production localisation. Uzbek-Russian trade more than tripled over the past ten years, increasing from US$4 billion to US$13 billion, Mirziyoyev said. The total joint projects investment portfolio exceeds US$50 billion.”
The president also emphasised the expansion of interregional cooperation, adding that “The volume of implemented interregional projects has reached US$5 billion, and an investment package worth another US$5 billion is being prepared. I would like to comment on cooperation in the energy sector. Thanks to investment projects, including those involving Russia, we have increased electrical power generation by more than 50%, from 58 billion kilowatt hours to 87 billion kilowatt hours.”
By 2030, Uzbekistan plans to increase electrical power generation to 120 billion kilowatt hours, and 54% of the generation will come from renewable energy resources. The country’s energy capacity will also increase with the launch of Uzbekistan’s first nuclear power plant, being built by Rosatom and partially financed by Moscow. The plant is located in Uzbekistan’s central-eastern Jizzakh Region, which borders both Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. . A ceremony to lay the first stone in the foundation of the NPP has recently been held.
This NPP project features a unique configuration, with power units of different capacities being placed on the same site for the first time. It will include two large power units with Generation 3+ VVER-1000 reactors (each with a capacity of 1 GW) and two small modular RITM-200N reactors (each with a capacity of 55 MW). Once operational, the plant is expected to generate approximately 17.2 billion kWh of electricity annually, covering up to 15% of Uzbekistan’s electricity needs.
Rosatom’s role is not limited to the construction of the nuclear power plant: as part of the agreement, the corporation will provide a preferential export credit, ensure long-term supplies of reactor fuel, take over the service and maintenance, arrange the disposal of spent nuclear material, and provide training to Uzbeki nuclear scientists. The construction cost is estimated at US$9.5 billion.
Mirziyoyev said, “We also intend to work together in other areas of peaceful atom use – medicine, agriculture, industry and science.”
Uzbekistan has a population of 38 million (more than Poland and similar to California), while its 2025 GDP growth was 7.7%. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, is preparing to join the Eurasian Economic Union and is a BRICS Partner nation.
