Israel–Uzbekistan Relations

Israel maintains an embassy in Tashkent, and Uzbekistan inaugurated its embassy in Israel in March 1997.[2][1] The relationship combines government-to-government agreements with agricultural projects, professional exchanges, tourism, and connections among Jewish communities in Uzbekistan and Israel.[3][4] Uzbekistan’s historic Jewish centers, particularly Bukhara and Samarkand, were among the reasons Israel gave the country attention in its early engagement with Central Asia.[5]

Agriculture and water management have been especially visible fields of cooperation, ranging from drip irrigation for cotton and vegetables to livestock development and training in wastewater treatment and reuse.[6][7][8][9] Healthcare cooperation has included support for a children’s hospice and training for its staff, while cultural exchanges have brought Israeli films, photography, and musicians to Uzbek audiences.[3][9] Bilateral agreements have also addressed investment protection, taxation, air transport, tourism, and the establishment of cultural centers.[3]

Bukharan Jewish migration to the Holy Land began as early as 1827, well before the establishment of formal relations between Israel and independent Uzbekistan.[4] By 1892, the Bukharan Quarter had been established in Jerusalem, creating a lasting connection between Central Asian Jewish communities and the city.[4] Contemporary family relationships link Bukharan Jews in Uzbekistan with relatives who resettled in Israel and the United States.[4]

Uzbekistan was also a place of refuge during World War II: more than one million Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied eastern Europe passed through the country.[2] Approximately 10,000 Jews immigrated from Uzbekistan to Israel in the 1970s.[2] More than 80,000 Jews subsequently left Uzbekistan during the mass emigration of the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many going to Israel and the United States.[2] These movements formed a substantial human connection alongside the diplomatic relationship that developed after Uzbekistan became independent.[5][2]

Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991, and bilateral relations developed shortly afterward.[1] Israel was the third country to recognize independent Uzbekistan, after the United States and Turkey.[4] Formal diplomatic relations were established on February 21, 1992, and Israel opened its embassy in Tashkent in May 1992.[1] Uzbekistan inaugurated its embassy in Israel in March 1997.[1] By the publication of a 2014 study of Israel’s Central Asian relationships, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were the only Central Asian republics with official embassies in Israel.[5]

Israel’s early priorities included the safety of Jews who had not emigrated and the preservation of Uzbekistan’s Jewish communities.[5] Uzbekistan’s early pro-Western orientation under President Islam Karimov also formed part of the setting in which relations developed.[5] Commercial activity began early: Shaul Eisenberg and his Israel Corp. business group worked in the cotton industries of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from the early 1990s, using Israeli-patented drip irrigation, harvesting machinery, and technical expertise.[5]

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres visited Uzbekistan in 1994.[1] That year the countries signed agreements on tourism, investment protection, and air transport; the tourism agreement entered into force in 1995, the investment treaty in February 1997, and the air agreement was dated July 4, 1994.[1][10]

High-level exchanges intensified in 1998, with visits to Uzbekistan during the spring and summer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, and Industry and Trade Minister Natan Sharansky.[3] Sharansky traveled with a business and industrial delegation.[3] Karimov visited Israel on September 14–16, meeting Israeli businesspeople and representatives of Israel’s Bukharan Jewish community.[3]

Documents concluded during Karimov’s visit covered avoidance of double taxation, trade and economic cooperation, environmental protection, agriculture, technical cooperation, customs, healthcare, and the reciprocal establishment of cultural centers.[3] The trade and economic cooperation agreement was implemented in 1999, and the double-taxation agreement entered into force at the end of 2000.[3]

On July 30, 2004, coordinated terrorist bombings targeted the Israeli and United States embassies in Tashkent and Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor General’s office.[11] The Islamic Jihad Group conducted the attacks and claimed responsibility; at least two people were killed and nine wounded across the attacks.[11] An Uzbek guard was killed in the attack on the Israeli embassy, while embassy staff were unharmed.[6]

Israeli-technology drip irrigation was introduced for cotton cultivation in Uzbekistan from 1998 in response to water scarcity, with farmers from Andijan identified as initiators of the method.[7] This example appears in a Grade 10 geography textbook, where Israeli agricultural technology is presented as a contribution to Uzbekistan’s farming.[7]

An Israeli agricultural aid project begun in 2001 supplied more than 100 drip-irrigation systems to farmers in the Kungrad and Muynak regions of Karakalpakstan.[6] Reported results included a tenfold reduction in water use and increases of 300–400 percent in vegetable yields.[6] Farmers also received seeds for paprika, tomatoes, cucumbers, and aubergines.[6] In 2002, MASHAV began construction of a tree nursery with USAID as part of a commercial bio-drainage program intended to address serious flooding in the Ferghana Valley and provide a basis for commercial forestry.[12]

Livestock development provided another area of cooperation involving Israel, Uzbekistan, and the United Nations Development Programme.[8] Following a national analysis of Uzbekistan’s livestock sector, MASHAV and UNDP signed a cooperation agreement within the country’s national sustainable-livestock project.[8] The program transferred Israeli knowledge and technologies, provided professional training, genetic materials, and artificial-insemination equipment, and was being implemented at five dairy farms in two areas west of Tashkent.[8]

MASHAV’s 2011 activity figures recorded 35 Uzbek participants in programs in Israel: 12 in agriculture, 13 in rural and urban development, five in community development, three in small and medium enterprises, and two in education.[8] The same activity table listed three on-the-spot courses, two short-term agricultural consultancies, and one long-term agricultural consultancy, with a total of 202 participants.[8]

The countries announced plans in 2000 to cooperate on developing solar-power technology.[13] In 2022, MASHAV signed a memorandum of understanding with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade establishing a cooperation framework covering agriculture and water management, environmental protection, healthcare, and education.[9] MASHAV also hosted a delegation from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Innovative Development for professional visits and meetings focused on Israel’s innovation ecosystem.[9]

Water-management professionals from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan participated in a study visit organized with the UN Environment Programme and Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.[9] Its subjects included wastewater treatment and reuse, desalination, river rehabilitation, public awareness of water conservation, and agricultural research and development.[9] During a visit to Uzbekistan, MASHAV’s head discussed capacity-building in smart cities, desalination, and renewable energy with Housing and Communal Services Minister Sherzod Khidoyatov, and innovation and entrepreneurship programs with Innovative Development Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov.[9]

Uzbek Water Resources Minister Shavkat Khamraev visited Israel in 2023, the first visit to Israel by an Uzbek minister since 1997.[14] He met Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, and MASHAV representatives.[14] Accompanied by Uzbekistan’s ambassador, the delegation visited the Israel Water Authority and Mekorot to learn about water treatment, purification, storage, and distribution, particularly to farmers.[14] Uzbekistan’s ambassador said the country was considering purchases of Israeli water technologies, especially water-saving solutions.[14]

A bilateral investment treaty between Israel and Uzbekistan remained in force in 2024.[15] Uzbekistan had already listed Israel among 49 countries with which it had signed bilateral investment agreements in 2010.[16] The economic framework also includes agreements on avoidance of double taxation and most-favored-nation trade treatment with Uzbekistan as a non-WTO member.[17]

In September 2024, Israeli authorities signed a grain agreement involving Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, intended to guarantee Israel’s wheat needs.[18] Uzbekistan was to receive advanced Israeli agricultural technologies in exchange.[18] The reported arrangement linked agricultural supply to technological cooperation, without a published trade value or full agreement terms in the available account.[18]

Copper became another significant component of trade: Israel imported $8 million worth of Uzbek copper in 2024 and $7 million in the first half of 2025.[19] The first-half figure represented a near doubling, and imports were projected at the time to potentially reach $20 million for the full year.[19] An Israeli metals importer described transporting Uzbek copper by truck to Georgian ports and then shipping it to Ashdod.[19] An Israeli trade-risk-insurance representative viewed Uzbekistan’s rapid provision of alternative supplies and logistical arrangements positively for buyers affected by the loss of Turkish supply.[19]

Uzbekistan’s landlocked location presents logistical challenges for broader trade.[20] Development Strategy Center director Eldor Tulyakov identified the need to route shipments through Russia or Kazakhstan as a constraint, while highlighting Israeli expertise in medical technology, education, agriculture, soil improvement, and water management as areas of interest.[20] A 2022 interview with Uzbekistan’s ambassador also identified ongoing projects in agriculture, the environment, labor migration, and tourism.[20]

In a 2021 opinion article, Uzbekistan’s ambassador described textiles as a main area of cooperation, including Uzbek cotton fabric used to make white prayer shawls sent to Israel.[21] She also wrote that Netafim’s water- and energy-saving technologies were operating in Uzbekistan, and identified high technology, science, education, information technology, medicine, trade, and entrepreneurship as opportunities for further partnerships.[21]

Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry head Ikramov described bilateral trade as $40–45 million annually at the time of an interview and identified agricultural technology, tourism, education, and medical initiatives as possible sources of growth.[22] He also reported that Uzbekistan had expanded drip irrigation from a small base in 2016 to 3,000 square kilometers within five years, with increased yields, and outlined a plan to reach 12,000 square kilometers the following year.[22]

Israeli citizens have been eligible to visit Uzbekistan without a visa for up to 30 days since February 2018.[20] More than 12,000 Israeli citizens visited in 2022.[10] Israel’s ambassador Gideon Lustig later estimated approximately 11,000 Israeli tourists in 2024 and anticipated 15,000–20,000 in 2025.[1]

In September 2023, Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev and Uzbek Ambassador Feruza Makhmudova signed a protocol amending the countries’ 1994 air transport agreement.[10] The amendment removed limits on the number of airlines permitted to fly between the countries and restrictions on their destinations.[10] Uzbekistan Airways had operated the Tashkent–Tel Aviv route, while Qanot Sharq began a Samarkand–Tel Aviv route in 2023.[10]

Between January and September 2024, approximately 40,000 passengers traveled from Israel to Uzbekistan, with 85 percent carried by Uzbekistan Airways.[23] In October 2024, Centrum Air postponed the planned launch of its Tel Aviv–Tashkent service until November 21.[23] The proposed service was to operate twice weekly, alongside Uzbekistan Airways’ daily flights.[23]

Taskin, described as Uzbekistan’s first children’s hospice, was established with support from MASHAV and the Israeli embassy in cooperation with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health and the local organization Ezgu Amal.[9] The hospice was intended to provide social, medical, and psychological assistance to children and their families.[9] Israeli experts trained its staff in responding to different situations and caring for severely ill children.[9]

MASHAV’s wider cooperation with Uzbekistan has encompassed medicine and healthcare, agriculture, management and small- and medium-business development, technology, science and advanced production, tourism, education, and women’s status in society.[3] Cultural exchanges have included photography exhibitions in Uzbek cities, Israeli film festivals in Tashkent and Samarkand, and Israeli musicians’ participation in Samarkand’s Music of the East festivals.[3] Violinist Shlomo Mintz performed in Tashkent in December 2000.[3]

Professor Yakovov identified Holon Institute of Technology as the first Israeli academic institution to sign a cooperation agreement with Tashkent State Technical University, covering technology and cyber fields.[24] In a study of post-Soviet Jewish life, the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs describes the Jewish Agency’s work as promoting aliyah and Jewish and Zionist identification in collaboration with Israeli government authorities.[25] The study lists an Agency office in Tashkent and describes Hebrew instruction, youth programs, and immigration assistance among its activities across the post-Soviet states.[25]

In 2022, Israel’s embassy inaugurated a monument in Tashkent’s Victory Park commemorating Uzbek citizens who sheltered and supported Jewish refugees during World War II.[1] The memorial connects contemporary diplomacy with Uzbekistan’s role as a refuge and transit point for Jews escaping Nazi-occupied Europe.[2][1] Jewish visitors, pilgrims, and rabbis from Israel, the United States, and Europe also regularly visit Uzbekistan’s Jewish community.[4]

Uzbekistan’s Jewish population includes Bukharan Jews and Ashkenazi Jews, the latter primarily of European origin, with community centers in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara.[2] Tashkent has the largest community.[2] A 1999 estimate placed the combined Ashkenazi and Bukharan population at approximately 30,000 and recorded almost 70,000 emigrants to Israel or the United States since independence, without separating the two destinations.[26]

In 1999, relations among religious communities were described as amicable, with no pattern of official discrimination against Jews.[26] Synagogues functioned openly, while Hebrew education, Jewish cultural events, and a community newspaper were present.[26] Emigration was linked to perceived poor economic prospects and family connections abroad.[26]

Environmental cooperation remained on the diplomatic agenda in September 2024, when Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Gilad Shadmon met Uzbekistan’s ambassador Jahongir Aminov to discuss climate, energy, and water cooperation ahead of COP29.[1] These subjects continued fields already addressed through agricultural assistance, professional exchanges, and the 2022 bilateral cooperation framework.[3][9]

During the Gaza war, Uzbekistan’s official position was closer to the Palestinian side, while cooperation with Israel continued.[27] A Begin-Sadat Center analysis interprets this approach as a pragmatic, multi-vector policy balancing humanitarian and pan-Muslim solidarity, relations with Arab states and neighboring countries, and ties with Israel and Western countries.[27] This interpretation concerns strategic motivations rather than a jointly agreed characterization of bilateral relations.[27]

Historical accounts also record difficulties affecting business and Jewish institutions.[16][28] A 2010 investment-climate report included two unnamed Israeli companies among foreign firms experiencing problems in Uzbekistan, in a broader account of assets being acquired by well-placed insiders.[16] A report covering 2009–2010 described diplomatic alienation from Israel and the United States and problems affecting Tashkent’s Israeli Cultural and Informational Center and the Uzbekistan department of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; these were historical assessments not independently corroborated in the available material.[28]

Published trade totals are not directly reconcilable: one account gives $211 million for 2023, while the same coverage quotes Ambassador Lustig giving $25 million for 2022 and $54 million for 2024.[1] The figures’ measurement bases are not explained, so they do not establish a consistent annual series.[1]