Uzbekistan’s Economic Reforms: Growth and Transformation
Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, has embarked on a sweeping economic reform journey in recent years, seeking to modernize its economy, attract foreign investment, and integrate more deeply into the global market. Since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016, the Uzbek government has introduced a series of reforms that are reshaping the country’s economic landscape, from liberalizing currency controls to privatizing state-owned enterprises. One of the first major steps in Uzbekistan’s reform agenda was the liberalization of its currency. In 2017, the government unified the official and unofficial exchange rates of the Uzbek som, allowing it to float freely. This move ended years of tight controls and made the Uzbek economy more accessible to foreign investors and businesses. Currency liberalization has since improved transparency and increased…