REFORMS IN UZBEKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY: MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS

The actual, still little explored topic of the reforms of the new president of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh. Merzieev is considered in the paper. It is noted that the study of these reforms and the prospects for the development of the situation in Uzbekistan are extremely important from the point of view of the interests of all countries of the post-Soviet space, because Uzbekistan is strategically located and has the largest population of Central Asia. The migration processes that bind Russia and Uzbekistan and the existence of a common terrorist threat show our country's serious interest in maintaining stability in the neighboring state. The aim of the work is to provide an analysis of reforms in the country's foreign policy. Scientific works and expert opinions devoted to the situation, both in Uzbekistan and in the Central Asian region are used in the article. Among them there are the works of MGIMO staff (Sergeyev V.M., Sodikov S.D., Mehdiyev E.T.), Russian International Affairs Council (Alekseyenkova E.S.), Institute for Socio-Political Studies of RAS (Seleznev I.A.), Information Analytical Center of MSU (Vlasov A.V., Karavaev A.V.). In addition, press materials in Uzbek and Russian were used. In conclusion, it is pointed out that the President of Uzbekistan initiated a large-scale series of reforms, which can already be called a “thaw”. In foreign policy Tashkent managed to improve relations seriously with all its neighbors in the region, as well as with Russia and Western countries. The authors formulated three scenarios for the further development of the situation in the country.