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Asia and Oceania
Uzbekistan |
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Last reviewed: 22 November 2007 |
Country information
Area: 447,400 sq km
Population: 26.5m (UN, 2004)
Capital City: Tashkent (population: 2,120,000)
People: 71% Uzbek, 8% Russian, 5% Tajik, 4% Kazakh, 3% Tatars
Languages: Uzbek/Russian/Tajik
Religion(s): Sunni Muslim (88%)
Currency: Som
Government Republic
President: Islam Karimov
Prime Minister: Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Foreign Minister: Vladimir Norov
Economic Information: (see below)
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Uzbekistan is a member of the OSCE, UN, NATO Partnership for Peace, the IMF, World Bank and EBRD, and has acceded to the Non Proliferation Treaty.
Membership of regional organisations: Uzbekistan was an active member of the GUAM alliance (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) from 1999 until 2002 when it suspended its membership. It formally left the organisation in 2005. Uzbekistan joined the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in 2001 (along with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan). In 2002, Uzbekistan joined the new Central Asia Co-operation Organisation, along with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. In 2006 Uzbekistan joined the EURASEC organisation and resumed co-operation with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Uzbekistan has had a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the EU since 1 July 1999. EU Foreign Ministers decided on a partial suspension of the PCA in October 2005 following the events in Andizhan of 13 May 2005. In EU foreign ministers renewed the arms embargo and visa ban against Uzbekistan for months EU Foreign Ministers will review the measures again in 2007.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 12bn (World Bank estimate for 2004.)
GNI per head US$450 (World Bank estimate for 2004)
Annual GDP Growth: 7.7% (World Bank estimate for 2004.)
Inflation: The World Bank estimate the figure for 2004 as being 15%
Major Industries: Gold, copper, zinc, lead, tungsten, uranium, molybdenum, natural gas reserves, coal and oil production, hydroelectric power.
Major trading partners: Russia, Germany, Switzerland, UK, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Korea, Japan
Foreign direct investment: US$ 140m (World Bank estimate for 2004)
Uzbekistan has substantial natural resources, including gas, oil, gold and silver. Agriculture is also important: Uzbekistan is the world's 3rd largest exporter of cotton. In the absence of substantive economic reform, the strength of the Uzbek economy is largely dependent on gold and cotton prices. Uzbekistan introduced currency convertibility and signed up to Article 8 of the IMF Charter in 15 October 2003, but in April 2004, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development curbed its investment programme due to lack of progress by Uzbekistan on political and economic benchmarks set by the Bank. In recent years the Government has sought foreign investment in its hydrocarbon sector from companies from Russia and Asia.
There are few reliable statistics on the Uzbek economy.
HISTORY
Recent History
The Republic of Uzbekistan is the heir to the Uzbek SSR, created in 1924 as part of the Soviet Union. The Uzbek Supreme Soviet declared the republic's independence on 1 September 1991. This was endorsed in a popular referendum on 29 December 1991, in which the former First Secretary of the Communist Party, Islam Karimov, was also confirmed as President with 86% of the vote.
Placing stability above all else, and fearing an Islamic revival, Karimov has limited real democratic development. Genuine opposition parties are not tolerated. The main dissident movements are Birlik ('Unity') which has not been allowed to register and Erk ('Will') which lost its official registration in 1993. The Islamic Renaissance Party of Uzbekistan was banned in 1990.
The region’s main terrorist organisation, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), made armed raids into Uzbekistan in 1999 and 2000 from bases in neighbouring Tajikistan. IMU fighters have received training in Afghanistan (to where many were deported in 2001) and have received support from Usama Bin Laden's (UBL) terrorist networks. IMU forces were significantly affected by coalition attacks on Afghanistan in late 2001. The IMU do not command political support in Uzbekistan. The radical Islamist organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir is active throughout Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. It has a radical and utopian agenda and its published materials often employ inflammatory language.
On 16 February 1999 a series of bombs exploded in Tashkent, killing 13 people and wounding some 128 others. The government blamed Islamic extremists and arrested people they claim were trained in neighbouring countries. In 2004, Uzbekistan faced two separate terrorist incidents. In late March, a series of shootings, explosions, and apparent suicide bombings in Tashkent and Bukhara regions left dozens dead, and co-ordinated suicide bombings in late July near the US and Israeli Embassies and in the Prosecutor General’s Office in Tashkent killed four and injured at least 7. Islamic extremists were blamed.
Uzbekistan’s Muslim population has a secular and moderate tradition - but there is a danger that growing poverty, unemployment, combined with restrictions on political and religious freedom, could drive elements of the population towards extremism and terrorism.
On the night of 12 May 2005, a group of armed men stormed a prison in Andizhan killing guards, taking hostages and releasing prisoners. They took more hostages in the administrative building in the main square and called civilians to support them. Civilians gathered and waited, expecting the President to appear. But according to credible eyewitness reports, Uzbek soldiers eventually fired on the demonstrators, killing hundreds, including women and children. The Uzbek authorities stated that this was a terrorist operation in which 187 had died, mostly terrorists, who were responsible for all civilian deaths. The international media including the BBC reported the events based on eyewitness accounts in the immediate aftermath of Andizhan. The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) produced a report on events in June 2005 available at: OSCE ODIHR Report, Uzbekistan
The OSCE’s Representative on the Freedom of the Media issued a report on the media situation in the immediate aftermath of Andizhan, available at: OSCE Freedom of the Media Report, Uzbekistan
Longer Historical Perspective
The first people known to have lived in Uzbekistan were nomads, who spoke a Persian dialect. At this time, cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand began to appear as centres of government and culture. By the fifth century B.C, the Bactrian, Soghdian, and Tokharian states dominated the region. As China began to develop its silk trade with the West, Persian traders took advantage of this commerce. They used an extensive network of cities and settlements in the province of Mawarannahr (or 'beyond the river' - a name given to the region after the Arab conquest) in Uzbekistan and farther east in what is today China's Xinjiang Region. The Soghdian intermediaries became the wealthiest of these merchants. Because of this trade, the cities on what became known as the Silk Route, eventually became extremely wealthy. Mawarannahr was one of the most influential and powerful Persian provinces. The region also was an important centre of intellectual life and religion. Until the first centuries, the dominant religions in the region were Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism.
In the early fourteenth century, tribal groups competed for influence. One tribal chieftain, Timur (Tamerlane), emerged from these struggles in the 1380s and proceeded to conquer all of western Central Asia, Iran, Asia Minor, and the southern steppe region north of the Aral Sea. He also invaded Russia before dying during an invasion of China in 1405. Timur initiated a flowering of Uzbek culture by gathering in his capital, Samarkand, artisans and scholars. During Timur's reign and the reigns of his descendants, a range of religious and palatial construction projects were undertaken. Timur also patronised scientists and artists; his grandson Ulugh Beg was one of the world's first great astronomers. It was during the Timurid dynasty that Turkish, in the form of the Chaghatai dialect, became a literary language in its own right --although the Timurids also wrote in Persian. Until then only Persian had been used in the region. The greatest Chaghataid writer, Ali Shir Nava'i, was active in the city of Herat, now in Afghanistan, in the second half of the fifteenth century. The Timurid state quickly broke into two halves after the death of Timur. The chronic internal fighting of the Timurids attracted the attention of the Uzbek nomadic tribes living to the north of the Aral Sea. In 1501 the Uzbeks began a wholesale invasion.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Uzbekistan's Relations with Neighbours
Uzbek foreign policy has in recent years been preoccupied with the threat of Islamic fundamentalism in neighbouring Afghanistan, Tajikistan and increasingly Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where there are significant Uzbek minorities. President Karimov's rigid policies have strained relations with his immediate neighbours, particular with respect to cross-border trade and movement. Areas bordering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are mined. Uzbekistan has expressed a wish to de-mine, but has requested international assistance. This is complicated by the fact that Uzbekistan has not signed the Ottawa Convention, a treaty banning all types of anti-personnel mine.
Uzbekistan's relations with Russia have strengthened in the last two years. In November 2005 the two sides signed a treaty on allied relations. This was followed in June 2006 by the announcement that Uzbekistan would resume active participation in the Russian-led CIS Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). (Uzbekistan had suspended co-operation with the CTSO in 1999). In 2006 - Uzbekistan also joined EURASEC, an organisation that aims for closer economic co-operation between the Russia, Belarus and the five Central Asian states.
Uzbekistan's Relations with the International Community
Uzbekistan's relations with the EU and the US have been strained since the events in Andizhan of 12-13 May 2005.
The EU General Affairs Council discussed the events in Andizhan in May, June and July 2005, calling on Uzbekistan to co-operate with the international community and permit an enquiry. As the Uzbek authorities remained intransigent, the EU General Affairs Council returned to the subject of Uzbekistan on 3 October. Chaired by then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jack Straw, the Council adopted Conclusions which condemned the refusal to allow an independent international enquiry and called on the Uzbeks to discontinue the detention and harassment of those, including human rights defenders, journalists and others, who had questioned the authorities’ version of events. The Council imposed an arms embargo, a visa ban on ministers and officials directly responsible for the Andizhan events, suspended technical meetings under the EU-Uzbekistan Partnership and Co-operation Agreement and redirected assistance programmes to relieve poverty, and support human rights, democracy and civil society. Norway and Switzerland supported the EU action by adopting similar measures.
In November 2006 EU Foreign Ministers renewed the arms embargo and visa ban against Uzbekistan for three months, but welcomed Uzbekistan's agreement to dialogue with the EU on Andizhan and human rights. EU Foreign Ministers will review the measures again in May 2007.
In November 2007 the EU also lifted the ban on technical meetings under the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, to encourage respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in Uzbekistan, through dialogue.
An EU delegation held expert-level talks with the Uzbek authorities on Andizhan and exploratory talks on holding a Human Rights Dialogue with Uzbekistan in December 2006. The first round of the Human Rights Dialogue took place in Tashkent on 8/9 May 2007.
In November 2005 seventy seven countries voted for an EU-sponsored country resolution in the UN General Assembly Third Committee. It expressed grave concern at the clear deterioration in the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and the government's refusal to co-operate with or address the concerns of the international community, including the UN. A similar resolution in 2006 was not successful.
In July 2006 the Uzbek authorities insisted the OSCE Mission in Tashkent be changed to a Project Co-ordinator's Office (PCO). The PCO mandate will be reviewed at the end of 2006.
In August 2005 Uzbekistan asked the US to leave its military base in Uzbekistan. The US forces left the base in November.
Uzbekistan's Relations with the UK
The UK recognised Uzbekistan as an independent state on 31 December 1991. Diplomatic relations were established in late 1992. A British Embassy in Tashkent opened in May 1993. The current Ambassador, Iain Kelly, has served in Uzbekistan since May 2007. The first Uzbek Ambassador to the UK arrived in May 1997.
Cultural Relations with the UK
The British Council (BC) has an office in Tashkent (which also covers Tajikistan and Turkmenistan). The UK offers a limited number of scholarships through the Chevening scheme. In 2002, the BC helped Westminster University open a British-Uzbek University in Tashkent.
Recent Visits
Inward
The last Uzbek Minister to pay an official visit to the UK was Elyor Ganiev, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, in 2004. He had a meeting with the then FCO Minister of State Mike O’Brien
Outward
The last FCO Minister to visit was Malcolm Rifkind, as Foreign Secretary, in February 1997.
GEOGRAPHY
Uzbekistan is a land-locked country surrounded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The country can be divided into four regions: the Ustyurt Plateau as well as the delta of the lower Amu-Darya River; the Kyzyl Kum Desert east of the Aral Sea; the foothills of the Pamir-Alai Mountain/Tien Shan Range and the fertile oasis of the Fergana Valley. The principal rivers are the Amu-Darya, Syr-Darya and Zeravshan.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
UK Development Assistance
The UK Department for International Development ended its bilateral programme in Uzbekistan in November 2005. DFID will continue to support the Multilateral Institutions in their ongoing work in, and engagement with, Uzbekistan. For example DFID is contributing to a regional HIV/AIDS programme with the World Bank, working in Uzbekistan as well as the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.
Trade and Investment with the UK
UK exports to Uzbekistan in 2005 totalled £21.4 million. Uzbek imports to the UK in 2005 totalled £29.1 million.
Major British companies active in Uzbekistan include: Rosehill Energy, BAT, OXUS Resources (gold mining) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The main forum for trade promotion is the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC). A meeting of UBTIC took place in March 2006 and was attended by government ministers from Uzbekistan as well as members of UKTI and the London Chamber of Commerce.
Since 1 April 2005, there have been no official UKTI trade services in this market to help British companies who wish to export or invest there, except for lobbying in relation to UK companies’ commercial interests by the Head of Mission.
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Karimov won the last Presidential election in January 2000 with 91.9% of the vote from a reported turn-out of 95%. The OSCE's ODIHR made clear its reservations about the electoral process and did not, as a consequence, deploy even a limited mission, judging that conditions did not exist to hold a democratic election. A referendum in January 2002 extended the President's term to seven years, allowing Karimov to stay in office until 2008.
Parliamentary elections were held on 26 December 2004 with only pro-government parties permitted to take part. The OSCE/ODIHR limited Election Observation Mission reported that the elections fell significantly short of OSCE commitments as well as other international standards despite minor improvements in the election law. There will be Presidential elections on 23 December.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The UK, bilaterally and with EU partners, regularly and repeatedly draws its concern about the human rights situation in Uzbekistan to senior level attention within the Uzbek Government. The Government has used the limited appeal of Islamic extremism as a pretext for repression. Torture is a particular concern. The UN Special Rapporteur for Torture visited Uzbekistan in November 2002 and said it was 'systematic'. Genuine opposition political parties are banned or prevented from registering. Independent human rights NGOs suffer similar problems, Only two - the Independent Human Rights Organisation of Uzbekistan (IHROU) and Ezgulik - are currently registered. Many NGOs have been forced to close since legislation introduced in 2004 and 2005 has tightened control over their activity and funding. In a wide ranging campaign to reinforce the official version of the Andizhan events, journalists and human rights activists in particular have been harassed, arrested and imprisoned after trials which have not met international standards. Many fled the country. The press and mass media are subject to de facto censorship. There are frequent allegations of fabrication of evidence; and 'disappearances' of alleged Islamic activists have been reported.
For more information on the latest human rights situation in Uzbekistan please see Chapter Two of the FCO's Annual Human Rights Report.
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Contacts
Address:
Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan
41 Holland Park
London W11 3RP
Telephone:
(020) 7229 7679
Fax:
(020) 7229 7029
Email: info@uzbekembassy.org
Office hours:
Mon–Fri: 0900-1230 and 1430-1730
Mon, Wed, Fri: 1000–1300 (Consular)
Website: http://www.uzbekembassy.org/