President Mirziyoyev’s Pivot to Central Asian Cooperation: Progress Made over Two Years
Uzbekistan, which shares common borders with all the Central Asian states and Afghanistan, has become a key trendsetter in the region during the past two years. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who came to power after the death of the country’s first president, Islam Karimov, in August 2016 and won the election in December 2016, is the driving force of Uzbekistan’s pivot towards Central Asia. From the onset, he has taken decisive and concrete steps to develop mutually beneficial relations with the Central Asian neighbors and made the region the main priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.
Albina Muratbekova
Senior Research fellow
Dr. Albina Muratbekova is a research fellow at the Eurasian Research Institute of Akhmet Yassawi Kazakh Turkish International University. Albina holds a PhD degree in Oriental Studies from Al Farabi Kazakh National University. During her studies, Albina received fellowships from institutions in China, India, the USA, the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. Her primary research interests cover Central, East, and South Asian affairs; intraregional and interregional cooperation of Central Asian states; China-India relations; and Central Asian politics.
