Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov met Katsura Miyazaki, senior vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), on 5 October. The ministry said they reviewed the current state of cooperation, implementation of ongoing joint projects and preparation of new initiatives. At the end of the meeting, they signed a new partnership programme for 2026–2030. The ministry described it as a five-year framework covering 15 prospective projects.

The announced areas are transport and energy infrastructure, human-capital development, healthcare, agriculture, private-sector support and green growth. The release gave no names, budgets, financing terms, implementing agencies or schedules for individual initiatives. Calling them prospective projects does not establish that all 15 have secured funding or entered implementation. Review of ongoing projects and preparation of new initiatives were separate parts of the meeting agenda. The announcement confirms the signature of a programme document, not delivery of its results on the ground.

The parties also discussed free economic zones. Uzbekistan highlighted JICA’s technical support in preparing master plans for these zones and creating conditions to attract foreign investment, including from Japanese companies. The ministry did not identify a specific zone, investment amount or company with a confirmed commitment. This part of the meeting can therefore be described as technical cooperation on planning conditions for investment; it is not evidence of a new Japanese investment or a particular factory being built.

JICA’s country-project inventory, updated in July 2026, shows examples of existing cooperation in Uzbekistan, distinct from the new 15-project programme. The list includes capacity development for the electric-power sector, modernisation of Navoi Thermal Power Plant, industrial energy-efficiency work, monitoring water use in the Aral Sea region and a horticulture value-chain project. It also lists finance for micro and small enterprises, financial inclusion for women- and youth-led businesses, business training and the “One Village, One Product” initiative. These are examples of earlier or ongoing work, not a disclosed list of the 15 newly signed programme projects.

Uzbekistan and Japan had also reviewed JICA cooperation through 2030 in late 2025. At that time, the Uzbek presidency said JICA’s project portfolio exceeded US$8 billion, with more than US$3 billion in initiatives under development. That figure is not a budget assigned to the 15 projects signed in October 2026; it describes a broader portfolio at a different date. The economic impact of the new framework can be assessed as project-level financing and implementation documents become available. The ministry’s 6 October statement did not yet provide those details.