On May 14, a U.S. delegation led by the Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant arrived in Uzbekistan on an official visit. During the visit, the U.S. delegation visited the Academy of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Defense said.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree today, assigning the whole territory of the Navoi province as a free economic zone (FEZ) for innovative, high-tech, export-oriented and import-substituting industries until January 1, 2030. The validity period of the FEZ may be extended.

The Uzbekistani authorities should end the harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, Agzam Turgunov and Dilmurod Saidov, and allow them to continue their human rights work unhindered said Amnesty International (AI), the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (PHF).

On May 14, at the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade was held a meeting between the Uzbek Deputy PM E. Ganiev, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade S. Umurzakov and the delegation of the State of Mississippi led by the Governor Philip Bryant. The visiting delegation included representatives of official, business and academic circles and heads of companies.

Germany is ready to cooperate with Uzbekistan and offers to consider environmental protection and infrastructure development projects. Also, during the visit of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Uzbekistan, the issues of environmental protection will be further discussed, Dr. Jürgen Keinhorst, Head of the Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia Division of the Federal Ministry for the Environment of Germany said during a meeting with the delegation of Uzbekistan, which included representatives of the media, NGOs and water related government organizations.

On May 14, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted a delegation of the State of Mississippi headed by the Governor Phil Bryant.

Uzbekistan will provide the worldwide average life quality standards for its citizens by 2030, the draft Uzbekistan’s for Investment Policy Strategy until 2025, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Industry, said.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to grant US$ 19.5 million to support the Uzbekistan public education reforms.

On 13 May, the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan launched a joint project “Promoting youth employment in Uzbekistan” funded by the Russian Federation - UNDP Trust Fund for Development.

The newly appointed Ambassador of the United States to Uzbekistan Daniel Rosenblum swore-in at the State Department. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Counselor of the Department, T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, who serves the Secretary as a special advisor and consultant on major problems of foreign policy, Uzreport said.

The court proceedings against the Tashkent’s former Yunusabad district mayor Bakhtiyor Abdusamatov who who was arrested for allegedly took US$ 400,000 in a bribe in October 2018.

Said-Abdulaziz Yusupov, director of the Fund for the Support and Development of Independent Print Media and News Agencies, was arrested on May 10 for serious fraud, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan said.

Uzbekistan Railways will implement the Andijan-Savai-Khanabad railway modernization project, with the launch of suburban train service.

The Director of the Information and Mass Communications Agency (IMCA) under the President Administration, Komil Allamjonov, on his Facebook page, announced that access to news websites previously blocked in Uzbekistan had been restored.

From May 13-14 Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, the UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States will visit Uzbekistan to discuss with key national counterparts the next steps in the country’s reform process.

Three UAE projects: Area 2071, Government Accelerators and Services 1 have been studied Within the framework of the second meeting of the working groups of the Uzbek-UAE Intergovernmental Program Enhancing the Effectiveness of Governance.

Until now, there has been little information available to the international community regarding the state of forests in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Uzbek Central Bank sold 6.2 t of gold to become the world leader in gold sales In Q1 2019, followed by Mongolia on 3.4t and Tajikistan on 1t, the World Gold Council said in a report.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on May 2 signed the bill amending the Criminal Code. The Legislative Chamber passed the amendments on February 6, the Senate approved them on February 28.

The Senate today passed the Public-Private Partnership and the Privatization of Non-agricultural Land Bills at the 19th plenary session.