On March 9, the Deputy PM/Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov met with Secretary General of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Ghassan Al-Baba, the Ministry said.

On March 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and discussed topical issues of the Uzbek-Turkish multifaceted relations.

On March 10, the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will pay a working visit to Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry said. Reportedly, he will held talks on further deepening cooperation between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, with bilateral relations set to be discussed in the context of regional ties.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov and Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, as well as the second meeting of the Strategic Planning Group chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries, were held in Tashkent on March 9, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry reported.

On March 7, the Consulate General of Turkey opened in Samarkand, the provincial governor’s office said. The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy PM Aziz Abdukhakimov, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Samarkand province governor Erkinjon Turdimov.

A Chinese investor will invest US$ 2.5 million for a recreation area project at the “Tashkent Sea” (Tuyaboguz reservoir), the press service of the Tashkent province governor’s office said.

The online international forum ‘Building Forward Better: A COVID-19 Green Recovery for Uzbekistan’ took place in Tashkent on 3-4 March, 2021.

On March 5, the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov hosted the newly appointed head of the European Union Delegation, Ambassador Charlotte Adrian, the Foreign Ministry said.

Oleg Sergeevich Malginov has been appointed the new Russian Ambassador to Uzbekistan. The decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, dated March 5, was published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

On March 4 and 5, online media outlets and bloggers reported that the Uzbek President’s son-in-law, Otabek Umarov, is being treated in South Korea. The report confirms that he was injured in a motorcycle accident on the evening of February 13 on Mustakilliq Avenue near the Pushkin metro station.

Negotiations between experts of the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) and FIFA regarding the use of the VAR system during the matches of the 2021 season in Uzbekistan league have yielded positive results, the UFA reported.

On March 4, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree approving the Civil Society Development Concept for 2021-2025.

In an investigation released this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty poked into the Uzbek president’s alleged secret resort in the mountains.

On March 2, 2021, the Cabinet of Ministers issued the Measures to Implement the Antimonopoly Compliance System Resolution, the Antimonopoly Committee's press service reported.

On March 3, the President of Uzbekistan signed the Additional measures for state support of non-governmental non-profit organizations, ensuring the freedom of their activities, protecting their rights and legitimate interests Decree.

On March 4, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the 14th online summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation.

The Freedom House published “Freedom in the World 2021” report, which offered a special assessment of the state of democracy in 195 countries and territories of the world.

The National TV and Radio Company of Uzbekistan has signed a content distribution agreement with the Russian company SPB TV. As reported on the SPB TV website, for the first time, content in the Uzbek language will be officially posted on TV platforms in Russia and the CIS countries. The programs will be available in HD quality.

The construction Minister Botir Zokirov said at a press conference last week that the restoration of the Sardoba dam and the elimination of the damage caused would be entrusted to TupalangsuvGESqurilish LLC and Uzbekistan Railways.

Uzbekistan’s economic freedom score is 58.3, making its economy the 108th freest in the 2021 Index. Its overall score has increased by 1.1 points, primarily because of an improvement in judicial effectiveness. Uzbekistan is ranked 21st among 40 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is below the regional and world averages.