Uzbekistan and the U.S. to deepen ties in critical minerals and technology

During his visit to Washington, President Mirziyoyev held talks with senior representatives of leading U.S. companies, investment funds, and financial institutions.

The meeting brought together U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Special Assistant to the President Ricky Gill, Special Representative Paolo Zampolli, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, as well as leaders of the American–Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce. Senior executives from major corporations such as Traxys, FLSmidth, McKinsey, Meta, Google, Amazon, Boeing, Air Products, Axiom Space, Cove Capital, Freeport-McMoRan, Orion CMC, Cargill Cotton, John Deere, Honeywell, Valmont Industries, and Flowserve Corporation also attended.

At the start of the meeting, President Mirziyoyev noted that trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the United States has quadrupled over the past eight years, and more than 300 U.S. companies are successfully operating in Uzbekistan.

He emphasized that the current level of partnership marks the beginning of a new stage of cooperation that opens broad prospects for joint initiatives. The president also mentioned that the upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will focus on defining specific areas of economic cooperation and new joint projects.

In his remarks, President Mirziyoyev outlined the key priorities of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

By 2030, Uzbekistan aims to create a new energy system with 18–20 gigawatts of renewable capacity, generating more than half of its electricity from solar and wind power.

In this context, Uzbekistan and the United States plan to develop the extraction and deep processing of uranium, copper, tungsten, molybdenum, and graphite. The two countries will work to establish reliable supply chains and introduce advanced U.S. processing technologies.

In addition, Uzbekistan is implementing an extensive program to modernize roads, railways, terminals, and airports. More than $12 billion will be invested in transport infrastructure development by 2030.

Digital cooperation with U.S. companies such as Google, Meta, and NVIDIA is also expanding. The introduction of Apple Pay and Google Pay systems, along with the creation of a Digital Academy and a network of startup hubs, is part of this initiative.

To promote and finance such projects, the involvement of the DFC and the U.S. Eximbank has been proposed.

Concluding the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed Uzbekistan’s readiness to personally support investment initiatives from U.S. companies. He reaffirmed that Uzbekistan remains a reliable partner and a guarantor of success for foreign investors.