The United States of America is one of the TOP-3 destinations where Uzbekistan nationals prefer to emigrate, the State Statistics Committee said in a report for January-June 2019.

In the first year-half, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover topped US$ 19.68 billion, an increase by US$ 4.52 billion, or 29.8%, compared to the last year, the State Statistics Committee said in a report.

Branch of Astrakhan State Technical University to open in Tashkent province, Norma said. The branch will admit its first students in the 2020/2021 year.

Total of US$ 226.14 million will be contributed for the renewal of the Uzbekistan Railways locomotive fleet in 2019-2021.

On July 17, 2019, as part of the visit of the Uzbekistan government delegation to the United States, the First Deputy Chairman of the Senate Sodiq Safoev held talks with the Vice President of the World Bank Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, who was joined by lead experts of the International Finance Corporation.

The excise tax for imported electric vehicles (HS code 870380) to Uzbekistan has been scrapped, follows from the presidential decree of July 18. Other vehicles in group 8703 shall remain taxable to 30% excise tax.

On July 19, 2109, United States Ambassador Daniel Rosenblum highlighted the key successes of a five-year U.S. Government program to fight tuberculosis (TB), and announced future programs in Uzbekistan to reduce and eliminate TB, especially drug-resistant strains. He handed over USG purchased modern laboratory and video equipment worth over $730,000 to improve detection and treatment of drug-resistant types of TB (DR TB), enhance the country's testing capacity of quality of medicines, and connect TB specialists across the country with TB experts in Tashkent and internationally.

Uzbekistan Railways (UTY) and the Chinese consortium CNTIC-CRRC DLOCO signed a contract for the purchase of 24 electric locomotives, divided into 16 freight and eight passenger units. Locomotives are to be bought following the tender announced in 2017 and is pursuant to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of July 15, the company said in a statement.

Foreign managers will be hired in the companies of Uzbekistan’s oil, gas and energy sectors, Uzbek Finance Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov said.

The State-Owned Assets Management Agency was instructed to gradually sell out part of the government stakes in a number of banks - Aloqabank, Turonbank, Asaka Bank, Asia Alliance Bank and Sanoat Qurilish Bank, the chief of the agency, Akhadbek Khaidarov said.

On July 18, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the new edition of the Tourism Bill into Law. The bill was passed by the Legislative Chamber on April 16 and was approved by the Senate on June 21. The previous edition of 1999 consisted of 22 articles. The new law includes 45 articles.

68 Uzbekistan nationals, employed by Koshelevsky Posad company in the Samara province of Russia were hospitalized with the diagnosis “poisoning by an unidentified substance,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported with reference to the consulate general in Kazan.

The Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov yesterday in Washington met with National Security Advisor of the United States John Bolton, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Samarkand province governor hosted a delegation led by the Director General of the Chinese BES Cultural Tourism Group, the tourism development department said.

On July 16-23, 2019, the Uzbekistan government delegation headed by Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will be in the U.S. to attend in a number of events and hold meetings aimed at developing bilateral trade, economic, financial and investment issues, the Foreign Ministry said.

The opening ceremony of the Consulate General of Uzbekistan took place on Tuesday in Rostov-on-Don. The symbolic ribbon at the opening ceremony was cut by the Uzbek Ambassador to the Russian Federation Botirjon Asadov and the governor of the Rostov province, Vasily Golubev.

The Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonogram Treaty, adopted on December 20, 1996 by the World Intellectual Property Organization, took effect today in Uzbekistan, the Foreign Ministry said.

The branch of the first American university in Uzbekistan, Webster University will be located in the building of the former Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction, which is now being reconstructed.

Nestlé Uzbekistan has inked a sale deal of its water and dairy products manufacturing units to the French Lactalis, the company statement said today. The price of the deal was not disclosed.

Uzbekistan’s largest state-owned enterprise, the oil and gas company Uzbekneftegas (UNG), will be restructured to improve its long-term sustainability and credit quality following a decision by the country’s government to implement a corporate transformation plan prepared with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).