Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy Priorities

Uzmetronom reports on Uzbekistan’s foreign policy priorities as drawn from reports that appear in Uzbek media outlets. The bottom line is that Uzbekistan places high priority on improving relations with everyone.

Highest priority though goes to relations with neighboring Central Asian states and Afghanistan. A special emphasis is placed on Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, it seems. With Afghanistan, Uzbekistan hopes to bring to life transport infrastructure that would allow it to ship goods through Afghanistan on to Pakistan. With Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan simply appears to be recognizing the reality that Astana has the most economic weight amongst its neighbors.

That Uzbekistan seeks good relations with Kazakhstan fits nicely with Kazakhstan’s efforts in Central Asia. In a speech to mark Kazakhstan’s 15th year of independence, Nursultan Nazarbayev said that he wants his country to play a greater role in combating regional threats and in improving the region economically. Given its good relations with the West, this will also allow Kazakhstan to act as a bridge between Western states and Central Asia. Given the West’s track record in the region, having an intermediary would certainly be welcome. And it is doubly welcome that arguably the toughest nut to crack and biggest disappointment in the region is looking for a better relationship with its more successful neighbor to the north.

All that said, the follow-through remains to be seen…

Though identified as lower-priority, some progress can already be seen on Uzbekistan’s interest in improving relations with the West, particularly Europe. The Uzbek government made a minor concession over Andijon, allowing EU officials to complete a fact-finding trip to the city. Germany, set to take over the EU presidency in January, said that small steps like this will allow for the step-by-step loosening of sanctions.

A recent Jamestown Foundation article suggested that Uzbekistan may be reaching out to the United States as well in order to counter-balance having become too close to Russia as a result of its rapid realignment towards Moscow after relations collapsed with the US in 2005. Evidence for such a realignment shows that if it is indeed happening, it is doing so slowly and cautiously.

This “revelation” reveals little of serious substance. Serious shifts are unlikely to happen. It does perhaps show that Uzbekistan is realizing the importance of cultivating good relations with a broader range of partners than it currently has. The past year and change of bad relations with Western states and institutions has, apparently, not been all Tashkent thought it was cracked up to be. If Uzbekistan’s government badly wants to improve ties, it is at least somewhat susceptible to pressure. This does not mean that Uzbekistan is in a position of extreme weakness by any means. It may badly want a renewal of ties, but it does not badly need one nor does it want as close a relationship as it had with the West in the past. But, as it cautiously reaches out, Western governments would be wise to keep in mind that Uzbekistan wants this more than we need it, and to attach modest conditions.

This post was written by...

Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.

Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched 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 private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.

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