Author: Niyaz Ermatov

Acouple of weeks ago, according to a story broken last Friday in Le Monde, the French government did the unthinkable. ‘MA’, as he has been dubbed by the French press, is an Uzbek exile and alleged radical Islamist who has long been a thorn in France’s side. Allegedly linked to the Islamist party Hizb-ut-Tahrir (which he denies), he had fled Uzbekistan after facing criminal proceedings in 2015, and was denied refugee status in Estonia. France, having found him to be someone ‘embedded in the jihadist movement’ with a desire to fight in Syria, followed suit and served him an expulsion order.  He turned…

Uzbekistan plays a key role in strengthening peace and security in the Central Asian region. As one of the largest and most powerful countries in the region in terms of human resources, Uzbekistan is active in bilateral relations and in the framework of international organisations to ensure stability and security in the Central Asian region. Uzbekistan works actively at the level of bilateral relations and within the framework of international organisations to ensure stability and security. The main objective of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy is to strengthen the state’s independence and sovereignty, as well as its position and role on the…

The sales volume of the precious metal amounted to 11 tons, which is five times more than the figures for Kazakhstan, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency. In October, Uzbekistan became the world’s largest seller of gold, World Gold Council reports. Net purchases of gold by central banks in October amounted to 42 tons, which signals a slowdown in the trend towards the acquisition of the precious metal. Purchases decreased by 41% compared to September, but this is still above the average for January-September 2023. The main buyer of the precious metal was China, which purchased 23 tons. Türkiye is in second…

According to the Statistics Agency, Uzbekistan exported textile products worth $2.33 billion in January-September 2023, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency. This is 13.2% of the country’s total exports during the reporting period. Over the nine months, the export of ready-made textile products amounted to $967.5 million (41.4%) and yarn $945 million (40.4%). Since the beginning of the year, 582 types of textile products have been exported to 58 countries of the world. The agency added that compared to the same period last year, the export of textile products decreased from $2.41 billion. Source: AzerNews

Berlin (24/11 – 50) The Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan sentenced five Pamiri leaders from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) to life imprisonment. They are Tolib Ayombekov, Nazhmiddin Sherchonov, Imumnazar Shoishirinov, Munavvar Shanbiev and Niyozsho Gulobov. The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan announced their detention in June of this year, presenting everyone as “leaders of an organized criminal group in the city of Khorog” – the administrative center of GBAO. According to information from the law enforcement agency, Shanbiev and Ayombekov were among those with whom the country’s authorities signed separate agreements in October…

Two second-half goals helped Uzbekistan come from behind to beat China 2-1 here on Monday in an international football friendly. Uzbekistan had a total control of the match with 61 percent of ball possession and 24 shots, but the host team broke the deadlock in the 41st minute, when Wei Shihao fired home from distance after Wu Lei’s shot was blocked. In the 78th minute, the away team got the equalizer as Otabek Shukurov scored a follow-up, after his first attempt in a penalty kick was denied by Chinese goalkeeper Yan Junling. Chinese winger Chen Pu made a huge defensive…

Representatives of the Embassy of Uzbekistan met with Director-General of the General Department for Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Matrafi, UzA said. The parties discussed prospects for further developing cooperation between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi side expressed interest in holding the next round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, which is planned to be held in Riyadh in November this year. It was noted that this political event will serve as an essential platform for an in-depth analysis of relations, identifying new promising directions and expanding…

The bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Pakistan have been growing steadily and recently elevated to the level of strategic partnership. In the last two years alone, both the countries have increased up to US$ 500 million of bilateral trade via Afghanistan. This landmark is achieved under the Transit and Preferential trade agreements. These views were expressed by Ambassador of Uzbekistan Aybek Arif Usmanov during a meeting with Chairman and CEO of Pakistan Observer, Mr Faisal Zahid Malik who called on him at the Uzbekistan embassy to discuss current situation in the region and the trade and economic partnership between the…

Today the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) entered into a landmark agreement with the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Host Country Agreement marks the culminating chapter in the preparations for the upcoming 21st session of the UNCCD Committee on the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC21), to be held from 13-17 November 2023 in Samarkand.  For the first time since its inception, UNCCD is convening one of its most important meetings in the heart of Central Asia. The highly anticipated CRIC21 will serve as a global platform for cutting-edge insights into land degradation and…

London, Dublin (1/11 – 66) Hamas is sheltered in a sea of civilians. Ostensibly a Palestinian political and military organization established in 1987, Hamas “governs” on the basis of having won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections – defeating Fatah, another Islamist terror combine – before forming a government in the Gaza Strip, described as “…the world’s largest open-air prison” for its Palestinian inhabitants. So why don’t the Palestinians, having been robbed of their ancient lands, simply up and move somewhere else? It is telling that none of the Islamic nations surrounding Israel care to admit any more…