On 20 December 2025, during an official visit to Tokyo by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the governments of Uzbekistan and Japan formalised a new cooperation portfolio valued at over 11€ billion. The agreements, reached following talks with the Prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, mark a significant elevation of bilateral ties into an “expanded strategic partnership”.
Expanded Strategic Partnership and Key Projects
The 11€ billion portfolio encompasses a wide array of sectors, signalling a shift from traditional humanitarian aid to large-scale economic and industrial collaboration. The agreements include plans to establish a special economic zone in the Samarkand region, modelled on Japanese development standards and to scale up the “One Village – One Product” programme to bolster rural entrepreneurship.
Energy and technology feature prominently in the new partnership. Discussions between the leaders focused on renewable energy, energy storage systems and the development of critical minerals. To coordinate these investments, officials proposed the creation of a joint investment platform.
Education and cultural exchange also received significant attention. An agreement was reached to establish the first Uzbek-Japanese university in Tashkent in partnership with the University of Tsukuba. Furthermore, 2027 was designated for cross-cultural events to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Veterinary Control and Livestock Support
In a specific sectoral development, the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an Official Development Assistance loan agreement with the government of Uzbekistan for the “Livestock Development Support and Strengthening Veterinary Control” project. The loan, amounting to 21.368 billion Japanese yen (approximately 119€ million), carries a repayment term of 20 years with a six-year grace period.
The project aims to enhance food safety and veterinary standards by introducing Japanese expertise in animal disease diagnostics. It includes three core components:
- Financial Support: Providing credit lines to farmers and livestock enterprises.
- Equipment Supply: Procuring modern diagnostic tools, such as chromatograph-mass spectrometers, for food safety centres.
- Advisory Services: Offering technical assistance for staff training and management processes.
Implementation is scheduled to run until July 2031, with international tenders for equipment expected in January 2027.
Central Asia Plus Japan Dialogue
The bilateral agreements coincided with the inaugural “Central Asia plus Japan” summit held in Tokyo. Leaders from the five Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — gathered to launch a new cooperation framework.
The summit resulted in the adoption of the “Tokyo Declaration,” which outlines three priority areas: “Green and Resilience,” “Connectivity,” and “Human Resource Development”. A key outcome was the commitment to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a logistics corridor connecting Asia to Europe, bypassing Russia. Japan also set a target of facilitating 3 trillion yen (16€ billion) in business projects across the region over the next five years.
Concluding Outlook
With Japan, Uzbekistan, and broader Central Asia, deepen international cooperation efforts with a nation experienced with elevating economic productivity from a development status similar to most Central Asian nations today. Japan, in the past century, developed a growth model that helped it quickly accelerate economic development that could suitably be applied to Central Asia, as well. The proposed project and deals signal important steps in this direction.
However, when these measures are put into context, the political dimension of the deepened cooperation does point to a dangerous development. Just last month, the United States of America have concluded even bigger strategic deals with Central Asian nations. Now that Japan has joined, we can clearly see that the North Americans and the Japanese try to win Central Asia with economic deals over neighbouring China, which both nations consider the most significant global and regional rival.
As Japan, an ally of North America, engages in strategic partnerships with Uzbekistan and other Turkic nations, the nations become diplomatically drawn to this allied bloc, depending on how much capital flows into Central Asia. As financial dependencies mount, political dependencies start to emerge, which can be utilised against China and prevent its further expansion into Central Asia via its Belt and Road Initiative.
