Investment to Top Agenda at Japanese-Uzbek Talks

Japanese foreign minister Katsuo Okada’s talks in Uzbekistan on August 7 to 9 are likely to focus on trade and investment. 

Okada will meet Uzbek president Islam Karimov and take part in a conference on Japan’s role in Central Asia.

Japan is a major importer of gold from Uzbekistan, but is even more interested in uranium to fuel its nuclear power stations. Uzbekistan has the world’s fifth largest uranium deposits.

There are currently 18 Japanese companies and seven joint enterprises present in Uzbekistan, while investment in the country stands at two billion US dollars, according to Uzbek sources.

“Of course Uzbekistan is hoping for significant Japanese investment,” said Farhod Tolipov, a political scientist lecturing at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent. “It’s quite possible that Japan could be interested in the free industrial and economic zone at Navoi.”

This article was produced as part of IWPR’s News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.