Key facts
- The U.S. and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen economic ties and expand business-to-business contacts.
- The pact aims to foster cooperation in key sectors including mining, energy, information technology, agriculture, and artificial intelligence.
- Uzbekistan has a potential $100 billion investment agenda with the United States over the next decade.
- Bilateral trade turnover between the U.S. and Uzbekistan reached approximately $1 billion in 2025.
- U.S. officials and mining executives are meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss critical minerals investments.
- Kazakhstan is offering investor-friendly ownership structures to attract Western capital for its mineral resources.
- Washington views Central Asia as a strategic source for critical minerals to diversify supply chains away from China.
The United States and Uzbekistan have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen economic ties and expand business-to-business contacts, focusing on sectors including mining, energy, information technology, agriculture, and artificial intelligence. This initiative is part of a broader U.S. strategy to secure critical minerals supply chains away from China.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Fogel and Uzbek Investment Minister Laziz Kudratov signed the agreement in Tashkent on June 9, outlining plans to facilitate business delegation visits and promote investment opportunities. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has outlined a potential $100 billion investment agenda with the United States over the next decade.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials and mining executives are gathering in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the Astana Mining & Metallurgy Congress (AMM-2026) to convert previous C5+1 framework agreements into concrete critical minerals investments. Kazakhstan is offering investor-friendly ownership structures, such as allowing investors to retain a majority share in projects, exemplified by a tungsten deal where an American consortium will hold 70 percent.
Washington views Central Asia as a strategic source of critical minerals needed to diversify supply chains away from China, which currently dominates the market for many such resources. The U.S. is mobilizing agencies like the Export-Import Bank and the DFC to de-risk dealmaking in the region.