President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched new projects and started construction of several facilities during a visit to Kashkadarya Province, commissioning 69 projects and beginning work on 92 more.

Following the controversial remarks by the Iranian Embassy in Armenia—which claimed Samarkand was part of Persian civilization by telling US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "Welcome to Samarkand, which was part of the very civilization you were talking absolute nonsense about last week at the Acropolis!"—historians have sparked a fresh debate on the ancient geopolitics of Central Asia, highlighting the contrasting legacies of Turkic governance and early Persian expansions.

Today on October 21, Uzbek Language Day, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law changing four letters in the Latin-based Uzbek alphabet.

Türkiye’s Cengiz Holding plans to commission a 550-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle gas power plant in Jizzakh Province by the end of 2026, the group’s chairman, Mehmet Cengiz, said at a meeting with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 16.

China was the world’s largest gold producer in 2025, with 384.3 tonnes, up 1.1% from a year earlier, while Russia ranked second with 345 tonnes, up 4.5%.

Uzbekistan plans to contribute $442 million in the road sector in 2026 and to build and reconstruct 200 kilometers of highways.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev has set the task of cutting rescuers’ arrival times to 5-7 minutes in urban areas and 15-20 minutes outside city centers, after reviewing a presentation on emergency response and reservoir safety on Tuesday.

The Constitutional Court will deploy an information system allowing citizens and companies to file appeals online and take part in proceedings by video link and mobile app. The court has also been required to broadcast its sessions online. Under a revised Constitutional Court Law signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Oct. 14, the relevant provisions take effect on Jan. 1, 2028.

More than 720 multi-story residential buildings in Tashkent were built without permits from architectural authorities, Construction and Housing and Utilities Minister Sherzod Khidoyatov told MPs in the Legislative Chamber on Oct 13.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted business leaders and CEO of major U.S. companies who landed in Samarkand for the meeting of the American-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council. In a meeting with Franklin Templeton’s president and CEO, the two sides reviewed the first outcomes of the efforts aimed at transforming large state-owned enterprises.

Tashkent will create micro-forests in mahallas, between apartment blocks and on school and kindergarten grounds, under an Oct 19 decision by Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov.

Much has changed in the country and in the Interior Ministry system over the past decade. But some old attitudes and patterns of behavior still make themselves felt. One example is a situation that sparked widespread discussion last week.

Units of the Russian Armed Forces’ 201st Guards Military Base in Tajikistan have arrived in Uzbekistan to take part in the Hamkorlik-2026 (Cooperation) joint tactical exercises, TASS reported, citing the press service of Russia’s Central Military District.

The number of citizens of Uzbekistan who traveled to Russia to work fell 13.2 percent in H1 of 2026 from a year earlier, to 1.179 million, the Central Bank said in its Labor Market Review.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said border crossings with Tajikistan using ID cards needs to be speeded up during his talks with the Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin in Samarkand Monday. Muhriddin had traveled to Uzbekistan to attend the C5+1 Ministerial Meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been awarded Uzbekistan’s Order for Outstanding Services, while Sergio Gor, the U.S. President’s Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, has received the Order of Friendship.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has neglected Central Asia for too long and wants to become a lasting partner of the region, as he addressed the second meeting of the American-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council on Monday evening.

On the evening of Oct. 19, a transformer protection system tripped at the Aksa Tashkent thermal power plant in Kibray district, Tashkent province, cutting the plant’s output from 460 megawatts to 185 MW.

Executives of India’s Larsen & Toubro, Adani Group and Reliance Industries have been briefed on investment projects in New Tashkent. They were presented with proposals for engineering infrastructure, centralized heating, housing, and shopping and entertainment centers.

The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the opening of the second meeting of the American-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council Monday.