The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis voted today, Nov. 10 to send a parliamentary inquiry to Ansabkhon Zakirov, director of the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation under the Cabinet of Ministers, over outdated standards, slow digitalization and corruption risks.
Presenting the inquiry, MP Nodira Janibekova said problems persist despite reforms in technical regulation, standardization, metrology and conformity assessment.
“Studies and analysis have shown that the sector has a number of issues requiring attention and a solution,” she said. “In particular, it should be noted that work to identify and eliminate corruption risks has not been fully organized.”
She said almost half of the more than 33,000 standards in force are outdated or do not meet international requirements.
“This is becoming a serious obstacle in the process of joining the World Trade Organization,” Janibekova said. “Full alignment of the technical regulation system with international requirements is one of the main conditions of membership.”
The inquiry poses questions in four main areas and requires substantiated explanations from the agency’s head, she said. The wording of the questions was not read out in the session. MPs then approved sending it.
Under Article 32 of the Legislative Chamber Rules of Procedure Law, officials must reply in writing within 10 days of receiving an inquiry, unless a different deadline is set.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s meeting on Feb. 12, 2026, was briefed that the same share of standards was outdated, though half of national standards had been harmonized with international requirements over the previous four years. A decree signed on Feb. 16 provides for a shift from state control to market surveillance of product safety and wider use of international standards.
From May 1, 2026, the application of standards of any level became voluntary. International standards are being deployed in stages, starting on July 1, 2026, with textiles, leather, furniture, electrical engineering, automotive and information technology.
