Howard Lutnick and Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Photo: Press Service of the President of Uzbekistan
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, as well as the heads of major American companies, investment funds, and financial institutions. The negotiations resulted in a number of agreements on partnerships in agriculture, rare-earth metals, aviation, infrastructure, information technology, and artificial intelligence.
According to the press service of the Central Asian republic, the following documents were signed in the presence of Mirziyoyev and Lutnick:
✅ a cooperation agreement on the production of rare-earth elements between the Ministry of Geology and Denali Exploration Group;
✅ a cooperation agreement on rare-earth metals projects between the Uzbekistan Fund for Reconstruction and Development and Re Element Technologies;
✅ a cooperation agreement on modernizing pumping stations between the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade and Flowserve;
✅ an agreement on the implementation of modern water-saving technologies between the Ministry of Agriculture and Valmont Industries Inc.;
✅ an agreement to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence between the Ministry of Digital Technologies and Palo Alto Networks;
✅ an aircraft procurement contract between Uzairways and Boeing;
✅ a contract for the supply of soybeans and soybean meal between Datacrop and Louis Dreyfus Company;
✅ a cotton supply contract between Uzsanoatexport and Cargill.
Later, more details about some deals were disclosed. In particular, the U.S. Department of Commerce clarified that the government of Uzbekistan signed a contract with John Deere for the supply of agricultural machinery worth $300 million, half of which will go toward harvesting equipment for cotton.
According to the press service of Uzbekistan’s president, both sides noted the positive momentum in bilateral relations. In recent years, trade turnover between the countries has increased fourfold, nearly reaching $1 billion. More than 300 American companies are currently operating in Uzbekistan in industries including manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and innovation.
Cooperation in the agricultural sector was given special attention during the talks. It was emphasized that agreements have already been signed for the supply of soybeans and cotton to the United States, as well as for the introduction of advanced American drip-irrigation technologies.
Mirziyoyev also held separate meetings with the heads of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, automobile manufacturer General Motors, and several other major corporations.
The parties agreed on joint projects for the extraction and processing of uranium, copper, tungsten, molybdenum, and graphite. The United States will also participate in the modernization of Uzbekistan’s transport infrastructure — the total investment is expected to reach approximately $12 billion.
Additionally, Uzbekistan is expanding cooperation with companies such as Google and NVIDIA on the introduction of contactless payment systems, the establishment of a Digital Academy, and the development of a network of startup hubs.
