Starting from February 20, the special republican anti-coronavirus commission has authorized the holding of international exhibitions and fairs in Uzbekistan in compliance with sanitary and epidemiological restrictions. Their holding must be necessarily agreed with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Health, the Ministry said.

The early onset of warm weather in Central Asia from the end of January resulted in early blooming of stone fruit species. Almonds, apricots and cherries have blossomed in the southern and central parts of Uzbekistan, in the north the buds are just ripe and ready to bloom.

Uzbeks will have 3 days-off in a row on Navruz holiday. In early December 2020, the President signed the Establishment of extra days off during the celebration of official dates and moving days off in 2021 decree.

On February 25, the Foreing Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who landed in New Delhi on a working visit, met with Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, the Uzbek foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkmenistan welcomes and supports Uzbekistan’s initiative to hold the high-level conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities”, the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated in his letter to the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The draft Criminal Code, published for public input on the regulation.gov.uz portal, provides for the decriminalization of a number of crimes and introduces criminal liability for some actions.

The Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. On February 22, the first deputy foreign minister of Uzbekistan Farhod Arziev and the first deputy foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan Nuran Niyazaliev discussed the issues of "preparation, content and conduct" of the visit on February 22 via videoconference.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will hold an online forum next week bringing together Uzbek and international stakeholders to discuss how Uzbekistan’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis can be used to develop a “green economy.”

The President signed Measures to prepare for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the city of Samarkand in 2022 Decree.

Uzbekistan plans to abolish criminal penalties for illicit production, storage, import or distribution of religious materials, this was stated in the draft of the new Criminal Code.

On February 23, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who arrived in Kabul on a working visit, was hosted by the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the Foreign Ministry said.

On February 22, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a resolution, which invalidated 1,887 government decisions issued between 1990-2020. In 2020, a presidential decree was adopted, which canceled about 500 documents.

On February 22, the "scientific and practical evidence of the efficiency and safety" of the Sino-Uzbek vaccine was presented to the parliament, the First Deputy Minister of Innovation Shahlo Turdikulova said in a comment to the Uzbekistan 24 TV channel.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) handed over medical equipment to 12 healthcare facilities in the Syrdarya, to assist the region in its fight against tuberculosis (TB). Representatives of the USAID Mission to Uzbekistan, National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Center, and the Syrdarya Regional Health Administration participated in the ceremony. The equipment, including electronic thermometers, stethoscopes, tonometers, and otoscopes, will help healthcare providers in the region deliver efficient and timely care, provide rapid diagnosis, and treat patients with chronic illnesses.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) handed over 206 minivans and 17 refrigerated trucks to the Uzbek Ministry of Health on Tuesday to preserve the quality of vaccines and transport them safely, the UNICEF office in Uzbekistan said.

After reports that many of the US military who had served at the Karshi-Khanabad military base were exposed to radiation and some had tumours, the Ministry of Defense organized a press tour to the airfield. Servicemen who were interviewed by reporters dismissed allegations of existence of radiation sources.

The new version of the draft Criminal Code, published by the Prosecutor General's Office, provides for criminal liability for obstruction of a journalist's activities.

From March 1, passengers of Uzbekistan Airways will be able to use a new online check-in service, the company said in a statement.

The draft new version of the Criminal Code, published for public input, proposes harsher liability for corruption-related crimes. In particular, the Code provides for by one and a half times longer sentence terms for corruption offenses.

The Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov became the CEO of Uzbekistan Airways and will now combine the two positions.