Priorities have been identified for updating the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign diplomatic missions

On January 15, a video conference meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions abroad.

Opening the meeting, the head of our state noted that the meeting was taking place in the context of drastic geopolitical changes in the world and increasing threats to the sovereignty of states. In this regard, the need was emphasized to critically evaluate current foreign policy activities and move to an updated format for organizing the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign diplomatic missions.

The President noted that 2025 as a whole was productive for the country’s foreign policy. During the year, high-level visits were made to 26 foreign countries, and for the first time in recent history, visits to Uzbekistan by leaders of a number of countries were organized. Multilateral dialogues in the “Central Asia Plus” format have become productive. In recent years, strategic partnerships have been established with 11 states, their total number has reached 19, allied relations have been built with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan.

– As a result of an open, pragmatic, thoughtful and proactive foreign policy, Uzbekistan is consistently strengthening its position as one of the global centers of peace and diplomacy, the President emphasized.

Since 2017, 16 new diplomatic missions and consulates have been opened abroad, their total number has reached 60, and the number of states with which diplomatic relations have been established is 165. There has also been an increase in staffing levels and salaries of employees of embassies, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations, as well as employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the same time, a fundamental question was raised about whether all diplomatic missions are fully using the opportunities provided.

– In the current conditions, an ambassador is not just a person leading a political dialogue. An ambassador is a state representative who attracts investments and technologies, opens new export markets, launches transport and logistics corridors, increases tourist flows, creates conditions for legal labor migration and, most importantly, protects the rights of our citizens,” the President emphasized.

In this regard, it was noted that for ambassadors, the key performance indicators should be the volume of export receipts from host countries, the growth of tourist flows, as well as the effectiveness of organizing legal labor migration.

The need to increase exports and investment through strengthening economic diplomacy was especially emphasized.

As part of bilateral and multilateral events, agreements on investment projects and trade contracts totaling $160 billion were signed in 2025. For the first time in history, foreign trade turnover exceeded $80 billion, exports reached $33.5 billion, and foreign investment exceeded $43 billion. Exports to 75 countries increased by almost $4.5 billion.

With this in mind, the ambassadors were tasked with expanding exports to the countries of the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as implementing specific projects in the fields of industry, agriculture, chemical industry, textile industry, greenhouse farming and services. It was noted that in some markets the products of Uzbekistan still remain insufficiently recognizable.

It is noted that the increase in logistics costs has a negative impact on the competitiveness of national products. In this regard, the need to diversify transit routes, optimize logistics chains and develop additional proposals to reduce transport costs when entering European markets is indicated.

In the field of agriculture, tasks have been identified for the study and implementation of water-saving technologies, modern agricultural technologies and innovative greenhouse solutions. Along with this, measures were outlined to expand export markets for chemical industry products, bring international standards and requirements to domestic manufacturers, as well as organize specialized exhibitions and presentations.

The need to intensify trade and economic cooperation with the African continent as one of the promising new export destinations was emphasized. For these purposes, it was instructed to develop a clear “road map” with the participation of relevant ministries and foreign diplomatic missions.

It was noted that ambassadors should be directly interested in finding promising projects, their attraction and practical implementation. In this regard, the introduction of the practice of material incentives for ambassadors who bring specific investment or export projects to their logical conclusion has been determined.

The insufficient implementation of the existing potential in a number of areas has been criticized. In particular, it is indicated that the opportunities to attract international grants are not fully used. It was noted that with closer and more systematic interaction between ministries, industry leaders and ambassadors, last year it was possible to additionally attract at least 200–300 million dollars in grant funds.

As noted, international organizations and donor countries annually announce grant programs worth about $200 billion. In this regard, the task was set to introduce a unified, systematic and effective approach to working with grants.

In addition, the need was emphasized, together with ambassadors in the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, China, Japan and Singapore, to take specific measures to attract leading foreign universities included in the TOP 100 world rankings as partners of Uzbek higher educational institutions.

It is noted that interaction between regions and diplomatic missions in matters of expanding foreign economic relations is not yet well established. The need for active participation of regional khokims together with ambassadors in the systematic promotion of export-oriented products of the regions and facilitating the entry of local enterprises into foreign markets was emphasized.

Providing citizens of Uzbekistan with legal and highly profitable jobs abroad was identified as the next priority area. The expansion of the geography of organized labor migration was noted, and it was noted that in a number of countries, work in this direction was not organized effectively enough, and therefore appropriate instructions were given.

It was emphasized that embassies and consulates must actively protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, and provide qualified legal assistance in each specific case. The task has been set to abandon “armchair diplomacy”, strengthen local work and build a direct dialogue with compatriots.

In the field of tourism, the need to further strengthen the role of ambassadors, introduce new approaches to promoting the country's tourism and cultural potential, effectively use visa-free regimes, as well as attract international outsourcing companies was outlined.

Issues of expanding foreign policy relations, high-quality and advance preparation of high-level visits, retraining of diplomatic personnel and the formation of a reserve of promising specialists.

Activation of foreign information policy and increasing the international image of the country through systematic work with foreign media and the implementation of special media projects are identified as priority tasks.

The need to update the Concept of foreign policy activities of the Republic of Uzbekistan, revise its priority areas and define clear tasks for protecting national interests and strengthening the country’s position in the international arena is emphasized.

As the President noted, the new concept should comprehensively reflect long-term strategic goals, the logic of internal reforms, as well as national interests in the field of economic diplomacy, security, investment, export, transport and logistics, water and climate issues.

In order to adequately recognize the merits of diplomats, it was proposed to establish the honorary title “Honored Diplomat of the Republic of Uzbekistan.”

Summarizing the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized: “The time is coming for diplomats of a new formation - those who achieve concrete results and firmly defend the interests of Uzbekistan in the international arena.”

During the meeting, reports and proposals from our country’s ambassadors abroad were heard.