Germany is making one of its most visible business pushes into Uzbekistan in years as Berlin looks beyond its traditional European and Asian markets for new sources of growth, raw materials, industrial partnerships and skilled labour.

At the fifth annual Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF 2026) held last week, the German presence was hard to miss. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was in Uzbekistan for talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, while a large business delegation joined the Uzbek-German Political and Economic Dialogue, bringing together some of Germany’s best-known industrial, financial and technology companies.

The list of German companies and institutions represented in Tashkent read like a map of the country’s industrial economy: Siemens Energy, Linde, Henkel, Knauf, Papenburg, Volkswagen, Deutsche Kabel, CLAAS, KfW IPEX-Bank, Deutsche Bank, ODDO BHF, Commerzbank and Landesbank were among those named during the dialogue.

For Uzbekistan, the message was that Germany is no longer just another European partner. It is increasingly seen in Tashkent as one of the central anchors for the country’s next phase of industrialisation.

“There are not many formats where you can see the Prime Minister leading the Uzbek delegation with foreign partners,” said Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade, referring to recent Uzbek-German business meetings. “This shows that we have separate and special relations towards Germany and German companies.”

The renewed attention comes at a moment when both countries are reassessing their economic geography. Germany, still Europe’s industrial powerhouse, is seeking to diversify supply chains, secure access to critical raw materials, find new markets for machinery and technology, and address its acute shortage of skilled labour. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, is trying to move beyond the role of commodity exporter and position itself as a manufacturing, logistics and services hub between Europe and Asia.

That convergence explains why Berlin’s interest in Tashkent has intensified. Uzbekistan offers Germany several things it needs at once: minerals, labour, infrastructure opportunities, a young population, a reform-minded government and access to a wider Central Asian market of almost 90mn people.

Kudratov said bilateral trade had already reached $1bn, but argued there was room for much more. “We have successfully reached the milestone of one billion dollars in bilateral trade,” he said. “However, we are confident that through joint efforts we can achieve even greater results. Today, more than 230 German companies are operating and investing in Uzbekistan, and we are grateful for their contribution to the development of our economy.”

Sectors identified by Tashkent closely match Germany’s industrial strengths. The first is mining and critical minerals, where Uzbekistan is seeking German technology and financing to expand production of gold, copper, uranium and other strategic materials. “On those positions we occupy top 10 positions globally,” Kudratov said. “We have tremendous possibilities to further expand production of critical minerals and metals in the country utilising German technologies and German financing.”

That is particularly important for Germany, whose manufacturers are exposed to disruptions in global raw material supply chains. German industry is heavily dependent on imported inputs for cars, machinery, chemicals, electronics and renewable energy systems. As geopolitical competition over critical minerals intensifies, Uzbekistan’s resource base gives it new strategic value.

But the Uzbek pitch is not simply about extraction. Officials stressed that the country wants to process more of its resources domestically and capture higher value before export. That fits Germany’s preference for industrial partnerships built around machinery, standards, training and long-term supply agreements rather than short-term commodity trading.

The second major area is mechanical engineering and automotive production. Kudratov said the launch of joint Volkswagen production in Uzbekistan would be “another milestone”, adding to existing co-operation with MAN and CLAAS. For Germany’s car and machinery companies, Uzbekistan offers both a local market and a possible production platform for Central Asia.

The third priority is chemicals. Uzbekistan is a major agricultural producer, with strong positions in cherries, apricots, melons, grapes and plums, and the government wants to expand domestic production of fertilisers and agricultural inputs. Kudratov said Uzbekistan was offering more than 50 chemical industry projects with a combined value of more than $30bn.

Pharmaceuticals are another area where Tashkent is courting German companies. Uzbekistan is presenting itself as a near-40mn person market with access to Central and South Asia. The government is offering what Kudratov described as a relatively low-investment model for German pharmaceutical groups, including white-label production at facilities capable of meeting EU GMP standards, including in the new Tashkent Pharmaceutical Park.

The most politically sensitive part of the relationship may be labour. Germany faces a severe shortage of skilled workers, while Uzbekistan has a young and fast-growing population. More than 60% of Uzbekistan’s population is under 30, according to Kudratov, who also highlighted a national programme to train one million programmers.

Thomas Awsiuk, managing director of HansaFlex Connect GmbH & Co. KG, said Uzbekistan was attractive to German companies because of its young workforce, broad range of professions and unusually strong government support. “There is no doubt that Uzbekistan has a lot of potential in this particular field,” he said. “Young, well-educated people with a lot of passion” were one of the country’s biggest advantages. He added that Uzbekistan was “a super interesting partner for Germany to diversify with, not to depend on one particular market.”

This goes beyond recruitment. Germany is also interested in vocational education and training. Uzbek officials said the country is working to adapt its education and vocational training system to the needs of a modern industrial economy, including through German standards and partnerships with industrial employers such as the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine.

That matters because German companies rarely invest on the basis of cheap labour alone. Their model depends on trained technicians, predictable standards and supplier ecosystems. If Uzbekistan can build those, it could become more than a sales market; it could become part of German industrial supply chains.

Logistics is the other pillar of the relationship. The war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia and disruptions in global trade have increased European interest in routes that connect Europe and Asia without relying on traditional northern corridors. Uzbekistan is landlocked, but it sits at the centre of the emerging Middle Corridor discussion, linking Central Asia to the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Europe.

The German dialogue included a dedicated session on raw materials and logistics, with participants from the German Eastern Business Association, Uzmetkombinat, DB Engineering & Consulting, KfW IPEX-Bank and transport specialists discussing how to strengthen links between Central Asia and Europe.

For Germany, this is not just a transport question. It is a strategic connectivity question. If German companies are to invest in Uzbek mining, automotive production, chemicals or pharmaceuticals, they need reliable routes to move machinery in and products out.

For Uzbekistan, better logistics could turn geography from a constraint into an advantage. The country is trying to position itself as a bridge between Europe and Asia, while also improving access to seaports through the Caspian, the South Caucasus and potentially new railway links through Kyrgyzstan and China.

The political relationship has also deepened. Mirziyoyev has visited Germany multiple times in recent years, including high-level meetings in Berlin, while Steinmeier’s presence in Tashkent during the TIIF gave the business dialogue additional weight. The symbolism is important: Germany is signalling that Uzbekistan is no longer peripheral to its Eurasian economic strategy.

Stefan Rouenhoff, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, praised Uzbekistan’s economic transformation and said the country was creating new opportunities for international business. His message was that the foundation for long-term co-operation has been laid, but now both sides need to accelerate joint projects.

That is the central issue. The German-Uzbek relationship is rich in potential, but it will be judged by execution. Trade of $1bn is significant, but modest compared with the scale of the ambitions being discussed. More than 230 German companies are already active in Uzbekistan, but the next phase will require larger investments, more bankable projects, better logistics and a deeper pool of trained workers.

For Germany, Uzbekistan offers a rare combination: a reforming state, a young labour force, mineral resources, infrastructure needs and a government eager to work with European industry. For Uzbekistan, Germany offers technology, capital, training, standards and credibility.

That makes the relationship unusually complementary. Germany needs new partners beyond its crowded and increasingly uncertain traditional markets. Uzbekistan needs industrial partners that can help it move up the value chain.

The appearance of Steinmeier in Tashkent, alongside a heavy German business presence, suggests both sides now see the relationship as strategic. The next test will be whether the enthusiasm of the forum can be turned into factories, supply chains, training centres and transport corridors.

If it can, Uzbekistan may become one of Germany’s most important new economic partners in Central Asia.