Uzbekistan Unveils Comprehensive Youth Empowerment Strategy on Youth Day

Tashkent, June 30, 2025 – On the occasion of Youth Day, June 30, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev unveiled a comprehensive new strategy aimed at empowering Uzbekistan’s youth through education, employment, innovation, and leadership development.

Uzbekistan has become the leader in Central Asia in terms of the number of students enrolled in the world’s top 500 universities. To further expand global educational opportunities, the government has established the Beruniy International School to prepare outstanding 8th-grade students. Additionally, each year, 3,000 promising schoolchildren, including 300 from disadvantaged families, will be trained for admission to leading universities. Support mechanisms have been expanded through the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, and commercial banks will provide soft loans of up to $20,000 to students admitted to universities ranked in the top 300.

In the areas of entrepreneurship and employment, two nationwide programs—“Youth Business” and “Step into the Future”—have been launched with $300 million in funding to support 100,000 young entrepreneurs and help 140,000 recent university graduates enter the job market. To better connect young job seekers with potential employers, the Ministry of Employment, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the National Bank of Uzbekistan (NBU) are jointly developing a digital platform. This platform will link graduates from universities, technical schools, and vocational institutions with available job opportunities. Additionally, the “Income in Motion” electronic system will provide up to 3 million young people with short-term and seasonal employment during academic breaks.

Fostering entrepreneurship among young people is also a key priority in Uzbekistan’s broader youth development strategy. Reflecting this commitment, the country’s startup ecosystem is rapidly developing. The government has already invested $145 million in venture capital, with plans to increase this to $1 billion. To encourage entrepreneurship from a young age, schools will introduce a “Skills and Business Hour” aimed at nurturing entrepreneurial skills, supported by grants worth 100 billion Uzbekistani soums (UZS) to help students launch startup projects.

In addition, universities will host an annual “Best Creative Idea” competition, awarding winners grants of up to 300 million UZS. To support prototype development and testing, the Innovation Agency and IT Park will open a Research and Development center, while the Youth Venture Fund will cover up to $50,000 of costs for the best projects.

Recognizing the growing importance of artificial intelligence, Uzbekistan is launching the “One Million Leaders in Artificial Intelligence” program in partnership with the UAE. AI education will be modernized with support from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and computer science teachers nationwide will receive advanced training at New Uzbekistan University. The government plans to implement 100 AI projects across priority sectors, including finance, agriculture, medicine, and energy.

It’s worth mentioning that Uzbekistan’s youth policy has also been recognized internationally. The country ranks among the top 10 globally for implementing the United Nations Youth 2030 Strategy and has shown dynamic progress on the Youth Development Index. Additionally, Bukhara has been named the Youth Capital of the Turkic World, while Tashkent holds the title of Youth Capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Source: https://president.uz/en/lists/view/8278