Scientific technologies in uzbekistan

SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGIES IN UZBEKISTAN
Contents

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  1Economic context
  
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  2Science and technology
  
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  3Research trends
  

Science and technology in Uzbekistan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.

Economic performance

Since gaining independence in 1991, Uzbekistan and the other four Central Asian republics have gradually been moving from a state-controlled economy to a market economy. All five countries have pursued public policies which focus on buffering the political and economic spheres from external shocks. This includes maintaining a trade balance, minimizing public debt and accumulating national reserves’. The republics cannot totally insulate themselves from negative exterior forces, however, such as the persistently weak recovery of global industrial production and international trade since 2008.
Although both exports and imports have grown impressively over the past decade, the republics remain vulnerable to economic shocks, owing to their reliance on exports of raw materials, a restricted circle of trading partners and a negligible manufacturing capacity.
Uzbekistan emerged relatively unscathed from the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, consistently recording economic growth of over 7% from 2007 onwards. The country is more or less self-sufficient in oil and natural gas and is a major exporter of cotton. Against a background of strong economic growth, the national development strategy is focusing on nurturing new high-tech industries and orienting the economy towards export markets.
Whereas Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan have been members of the World Trade Organization since 1998, 2013 and 2015 respectively, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have adopted a policy of self-reliance. Symptomatic of this policy is the lesser role played by foreign direct investment in Uzbekistan. It contributed just 1.6% of GDP in 2015, after peaking at 4.2% of GDP in 2010. In Uzbekistan, the state controls virtually all strategic sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing and finance, foreign investors being relegated to less vital sectors like tourism.
Funding for strategic economic sectors
Uzbekistan’s anti-crisis package for 2009−2012 helped it to weather the financial crisis by injecting funds into strategic economic sectors. For the period to 2015, these sectors were the energy, oil and gas industries; the chemical, textile and automobile industries; non-ferrous metals; engineering; pharmaceuticals; high-quality processing of agricultural products; and construction materials.
Each of these sectors tends to involve large companies equipped with design bureaux and laboratories. There are, however, also specialized state institutions which actively promote innovation. These include the Agency for Technology Transfer (since 2008), which transfers technology to the regions, the Scientific and Technical Information State Unitary Enterprise (since 2009) and the Intellectual Property Agency of Uzbekistan (since 2011).