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The Jamestown Foundation (29 May 2020)

Kseniya Kirillova

The Russian Federation is strengthening its economic integration with several Central Asian states. At the beginning of April, the authorities of Uzbekistan and Russia agreed to set up an economic cooperation program in May that would take into account the influence of the novel coronavirus pandemic on their trade. According to the official joint declaration, enterprises of the two countries plan to implement projects worth $7.3 billion over the short term. At the end of 2019, bilateral trade turnover had already increased by 17 percent compared to 2018 (Sputnik-Uzbekistan, April 3).

By the end of last month, Uzbekistan began the process of joining the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as an observer. The formal signing of the agreement most likely will take place during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s upcoming visit to Moscow, planned for June (Kommersant, April 29). At the same time, Russian experts are advising Uzbekistan’s authorities to consider not only full membership in the EEU but also returning to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which is also dominated by Moscow (Forbes—Kazakh service, October 4, 2019).

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