During the past week, President Mirziyoyev participated in the CIS and EAEU summits in St. Petersburg, Uzbekistan’s 2025 state budget was adopted, Tashkent’s master plan through 2045 was approved and Uzbekistan evacuated 100 injured Palestinian children and women for medical treatment.
Decline in natural gas, oil, and gasoline production
Uzbekistan's natural gas, oil, and gasoline production continued to fall in the first 11 months of 2024. Gas extraction dropped 4.7% compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to 40.75 billion cubic meters – a decline of nearly 2 billion cubic meters year-on-year. Oil production fell 7.3% to 657,000 tons, while gasoline output decreased for the fourth consecutive month, down 2.4% to 1.186 million tons.
Despite these challenges, natural gas exports rose by 16.5%, generating $593 million, while imports surged 2.8 times, reaching $1.552 billion. Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov projected annual gas imports of 10–11 billion cubic meters by 2030. These trends jeopardize Uzbekistan’s "2030" strategy, which aims to boost gas production to 62 billion cubic meters annually – a 33% increase from current levels.
Samarkand to host CITES COP20
Samarkand will host the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) from November 24 to December 5, 2025. This milestone marks the first time a Central Asian country will host the event, bringing together representatives from 184 parties, including 183 countries and the EU. Over 4,000 delegates are expected to attend, including government officials, conservationists, and stakeholders in wildlife trade. The conference will focus on ensuring sustainable, legal, and traceable wildlife trade, as well as combating biodiversity loss and illegal wildlife trafficking. Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov emphasized Uzbekistan's commitment to preserving biodiversity, with species from the country already included in the CITES list.
Record U.S. deportations of Uzbek nationals
Between September 2023 and September 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 572 Uzbek nationals, a 6.5-fold increase from the previous year. The sharp rise is attributed to increased flight availability and streamlined deportation procedures.
Many Uzbeks attempted to enter the U.S. illegally via a route spanning Uzbekistan–Turkey–Bolivia–Mexico. Since 2021, an estimated 13,600 Uzbeks have used this route. The deportations could intensify under Donald Trump’s administration, as he has pledged stricter immigration enforcement and mass deportations.
