Uzbekistan Moving Against Israeli JV

Israel has enjoyed fairly good relations with Uzbekistan. Both it and Azerbaijan, as Muslim states that are friendly to Israel and hostile to Islamism, receive good press in Israel as a result. (For examples, see here and here.) Statements of support are apparently no protection for Israeli businesses.

The Uzbek government has stripped an Uzbek-Israeli joint venture of its exclusive rights to process a strategic metal and assumed a direct supervisory role over its export contracts.

The government-controlled vesti.uz website says the move to rein in Uzmetal Technology is a result of the joint venture’s alleged failure to meet its commercial obligations.

The Israeli partner, Metal Tech, has a small amount of information about their joint venture on their website.

This post was written by...

Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.

Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.