According to established tradition, the Russian-Uzbek conference is held alternately in Russia and Uzbekistan. Since 2019, when the partnership memorandum between Valdai and ISRS was signed, Russian and Uzbek experts have met in Moscow, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Khiva. This year’s venue is the city of Termez, located near the Friendship Bridge on the border between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
Programme of the Russia-Uzbekistan conference of the Valdai Discussion Club
and the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
“Russia – Uzbekistan: Strategic Partnership in Eurasia”
Termez, Uzbekistan, March 30-31, 2026
Attention! The time specified in the programme is local
March 30, Monday
09:50 – 10:30 Opening Session. Russia and Uzbekistan: Bilateral Dialogue and Opportunities for Cooperation in Eurasia (LIVE: Russian)
The political dialogue and economic cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan exemplify a high level of mutual trust, a shared and solidaristic approach to key issues concerning the development of Greater Eurasia and global stability, as well as a focus on strengthening the practical foundations of their relations in the fields of trade, investment, and industrial cooperation. Recognizing their shared responsibility for shaping economic, transport, industrial, humanitarian and technological ties in Eurasia, Russia and Uzbekistan are leveraging their geographical, economic and demographic strengths to increase the sustainability of the region.
11:00 – 13:00 Session 1. Current Challenges in Eurasia and Common Solutions
Central Eurasia is protected from the most dangerous traditional challenges and threats that shape the international security agenda in Eastern Europe, South Asia, or the Middle East. The Afghan issue is gradually moving toward resolution—Russia and Uzbekistan have already made significant contributions to opening Afghanistan to the world and to the country’s gradual progress toward becoming a prospective participant in international cooperation. At the same time, the region is already facing and will face new challenges: political and religious radicalism, climate change and freshwater shortages, as well as the need for more effective management of migration flows. Russia and Uzbekistan have accumulated considerable experience in expert dialogue on these issues and can offer innovative solutions. The goal of the session is a comprehensive discussion of old and new security challenges in Eurasia, and the search for mutually acceptable practical solutions and strategies.
14:00 – 15:30 Session 2. The Space of Joint Development: Investments, Industrial Cooperation, Digitalization (LIVE: Russian)
Industrial cooperation and the organization of investment activities rank among the most important issues of joint development, grounded in the priority of establishing a common, open and sustainable economic space. Russia and Uzbekistan possess significant potential to strengthen cooperative ties, mutually support investments, and jointly identify priority areas for practical economic cooperation. In recent years, the parties have achieved considerable progress in this field, with key priorities identified and the volume of investments continuously increasing. The agenda includes the creation of mechanisms for the mutual support and protection of investments, as well as the development of supply chains. An additional important task is the digitalization and automation of services through the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies, aimed at forming a unified development space in this area. The objective of this session is to conduct a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the progress made in industrial cooperation, investments, and innovation implementation, as well as to identify the most critical priority areas for official dialogue and direct contacts between companies of both countries, and to highlight new growth points for bilateral cooperation.
16:00 – 17:30 Session 3. Connecting North and South: Transport, Logistics, Infrastructure (LIVE: Russian)
The strategic priority for Russia and Uzbekistan is to establish a developed transport system and flexible international trade infrastructure based on the most advanced technological solutions. Achieving this requires enhanced collaboration in key areas: improving transport and logistics systems, creating transboundary corridors, developing trade and industrial clusters around them, and widely adopting new information technologies. The focus of this session is on both traditional and emerging tasks related to building, in Central Eurasia, not merely an infrastructure for international trade, but a common space for development and economic management.
March 31, Tuesday
09:00 – 10:45 Session 4. Surkhandarya – Tatarstan: Achievements and Potential of Interregional Cooperation (LIVE: Russian)
The issues to be discussed at this session include: industrial cooperation between Tatarstan and Surkhandarya in the framework of the implementation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation) and the Khokimiyat of Surkhandarya region (Republic of Uzbekistan) on trade-economic, scientific-technical, cultural, agricultural, youth and other spheres; the possibilities of implementing large production projects, including in the field of chemical industry (Himgrad), agriculture, oil refining, transport and logistics, education, innovative technologies and livestock development; participation of the parties in North-South transport and logistics projects; potential participation of Tatarstan companies, its industrial potential in the extraction and processing of minerals in Afghanistan (including oil, gas, critical minerals), and other possible joint projects with Uzbek partners (pooling potentials) on Afghan territory.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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