Digital connectivity between Russia and Uzbekistan could be significantly strengthened through thoughtful and systematic coordination between government agencies, technology companies, the scientific community, universities, and representatives of those industries in which the artificial intelligence is already being applied, writes Anna Sytnik.
By 2025–2026, cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan in artificial intelligence projects has already become substantive and practice-oriented, but the potential for further development remains quite significant. Areas of mutual interest include the development of applied AI models for public administration and the real economy, including solutions for bilingual environments, as well as joint work on industry datasets necessary for the development of healthcare, logistics, and the agricultural sector.
In turn, the next stage of cooperation may require the harmonisation of rules, standards, and institutional mechanisms for interaction. Bilateral initiatives between Russia and Uzbekistan will inevitably integrate into a broader Eurasian system of interaction, reaching larger markets, complex technological partnerships, and extended cooperation chains. Therefore, an analysis of current industrial cooperation, investment processes, and innovation activity requires both the examination of individual projects and the degree to which they may be compatible with, and integrated into, a more holistic architecture.
AI is developing rapidly in Russia and Uzbekistan today, but the logic behind this development differs somewhat. Russia approaches AI primarily in the context of technological sovereignty, sustainability, and the development of its own solutions, which is driven by the geopolitical realities we find ourselves in. The country is building a systemic approach: in December 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the formation of a headquarters for the implementation of generative AI; in March of this year, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications presented a proposed federal law on AI regulation; and the government introduced a sub-commission for the development and implementation of AI technologies.
For Uzbekistan, AI is increasingly becoming a tool for accelerated modernisation, that is, the rapid introduction of new technologies into the economy. Nevertheless, the technological sovereignty agenda is certainly also present. Uzbekistan has quickly embarked on a digital transformation journey; the country has climbed 25 spots in the Government AI Readiness Index over the past two years, taking first place in Central Asia. The project to create an Uzbek language data corpus for large-scale linguistic models is gradually approaching practical implementation. Against this backdrop, Russia’s experience creating sovereign AI models may be useful.
Uzbekistan’s ambitious plans to build data centres in Karakalpakstan and other regions are really interesting. Russia, for its part, has accumulated significant experience not only in tight construction schedules but also in integrating data centres into the broader architecture of AI, digital government, and critical infrastructure.
Overall, the figures speak for themselves. By the beginning of 2026, the volume of accumulated Russian direct investment in Uzbekistan’s IT sector exceeded $320 million, a 3.2-fold increase compared to 2023. The number of Russian technology companies with a legal presence in the country reached 47, and the volume of mutual trade in IT services and digital platforms by the end of 2025 was approximately $210 million, a 64% year-on-year increase.
Cooperation in education and training plays a significant role. In April 2025, the Innovative Development Agency of Uzbekistan and the Foundation for Science Financing and Innovation Support signed memorandums with Kazan Federal University and Innopolis University to organise research internships. Specialists who graduate from this programme will then work in industry and participate in the development of digital services. There are also industrial technology park projects being developed by representatives from Tatarstan.
In 2025, Skolkovo approved a roadmap for the Country Entry programme, which envisages the entry of at least 25 Skolkovo residents into the Uzbek market by the end of 2027 and access for up to 30 Uzbek tech companies to the innovation centre’s infrastructure, mentoring support, and investors.
Yandex Uzbekistan is developing online order delivery and other digital solutions. For example, Yandex Go operates in Tashkent and other cities. By the end of 2025, the combined audience of Yandex services in Uzbekistan exceeded 8.5 million unique users per month; the number of Yango driver partners reached 180,000, and localisation investments (including a Tashkent office, technical support, and a regional data centre) amounted to over $45 million. Sber is represented through School 21, which already offers free, internship-oriented training for IT specialists at campuses in Tashkent and Samarkand. Currently, more than 2,200 students are enrolled. Over 500 people have graduated from the programme, 87% of whom are employed in Uzbekistan’s IT sector. An agreement has also been reached to launch the Sber500 startup accelerator at IT Park Uzbekistan in 2025—2026, with a plan to select at least 50 Uzbek projects in 2026 and create a project exchange system between the two countries’ innovation ecosystems.
At the same time, other companies working in digital analytics and AI services are also expressing an interest in opening offices and localising projects. NtechLab (computer vision) is negotiating the implementation of its solutions in Tashkent’s transportation system. VisionLabs, together with Uzbek banks, is piloting biometric identification in three of the country’s largest banks. Our bilateral cooperation is increasingly integrated into the CIS space. There is no strict supranational regime for AI, but important elements of soft coordination are already emerging. In 2025, the Model Law on AI Technologies was adopted at the Interparliamentary Assembly, and at the end of 2025, the CIS Spatial Data Infrastructure Geoportal was launched. Its further expansion is planned for 2026, including more active integration with Uzbekistan.
In August 2025, at the international forum on the development of AI technologies in the CIS countries, held in Uzbekistan, the practical content of the roadmap for 2025—2027 was discussed between relevant agencies. Twelve pilot projects were agreed upon, including the implementation of AI in emergency medical care (pilot projects in Tashkent and Samarkand, covering 5.2 million people), the use of computer vision for flood and emergency monitoring, and the launch of a retraining programme for 1,500 civil servants in “AI Governance”.
Unlike the CIS, the SCO operates through a Member State Cooperation Programme for the Development of Artificial Intelligence for 2025—2030. In September 2025, the Council of Heads of State approved a roadmap for its implementation, including 23 specific measures to unify standards, establish joint research centres, and hold annual foresight sessions. Later, at the heads of state level, a statement was adopted on further deepening international cooperation in the field of AI, and in February 2026, this agenda was reaffirmed at an international forum in Islamabad attended by the leadership of the SCO Secretariat, where Russia and Uzbekistan co-chaired a thematic session on AI in logistics.
The further deepening of bilateral cooperation will depend primarily on the parties’ ability to build agreed institutional foundations for collaboration. This includes investment protection mechanisms, including the preparation of an intergovernmental agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments in digital projects, discussions of which began in December 2025; support for production chains; access to data, including through a pilot project on cross-border data anonymisation between Russia and Uzbekistan planned for 2026; the localisation of digital solutions; trust in platforms; and compatibility of regulatory approaches.
Today, two of the most promising areas of cooperation can be identified. The first is applied models for the government and the real sector. We see active development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the US and China, and we do not intend to compete with these formats, as we operate under a different logic of cooperation. IT giants are coming as suppliers of large platforms, clouds, and capital. Russia has something else to offer: solutions for a bilingual “Uzbek-Russian” environment, especially for education, public administration, tax and customs administration, legal matters, healthcare, and financial control.
The second area is joint work on data corpora and industry-specific datasets. This is a crucial area for AI. Russia could propose the creation of joint data labs in specific areas: medicine, transportation, the agricultural sector, public services, and industrial safety. For example, a joint project on anonymised medical data for diagnostics, on agricultural analytics for arid regions, or on intelligent cargo flow monitoring systems. Digital connectivity between Russia and Uzbekistan could be significantly strengthened through thoughtful and systematic coordination between government agencies, technology companies, the scientific community, universities, and representatives of those industries in which the artificial intelligence is already being applied.
