TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, June 17. Economic
cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan has reached a
“fundamentally new level,” Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
said on Wednesday, Trend's special correspondent reports.
Speaking at the opening of the 5th Tashkent International
Investment Forum (Tashkent International Investment Forum 2026),
Mishustin said bilateral ties are expanding across industry,
agriculture, energy, and regional investment projects.
He said economic engagement between the two countries has
deepened significantly, with industrial cooperation growing and
interregional links strengthening.
Agricultural trade, he noted, rose nearly 50% in the first four
months of the year compared to the same period last year,
underscoring what he described as improving food security
cooperation.
Mishustin added that Russia remains one of the largest foreign
investors in Uzbekistan, with roughly 3,000 Russian companies
operating in the country and about 150 major investment projects
underway, totaling more than 4 trillion rubles.
Energy cooperation remains a central pillar of the partnership,
he said, citing joint work on oil and gas development,
modernization of the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline system, and
participation in major hydropower projects in Uzbekistan.
He also pointed to the establishment of a joint drilling control
center and ongoing development of new hydrocarbon fields, as well
as Russian engineering involvement in large-scale hydropower
construction.
“The Russian government is absolutely committed to strengthening
trade and economic cooperation with Uzbekistan,” Mishustin said,
adding that expanded business activity is helping create jobs and
increase industrial output.
The remarks came during TIIF 2026, a major investment platform
in Uzbekistan that brings together government officials, investors,
and international financial institutions to discuss economic
cooperation and regional integration.
