Nuclear energy in Uzbekistan: limits of multiple vectors In recent years, the issue of energy security has once again become one of the most important on the world agenda. Sanctions, regional conflicts, the destruction of traditional transportation chains and much more are forcing governments to look for new and reliable sources of energy. For the post-Soviet space, this topic is particularly relevant, which was confirmed by the common desire of the countries of the region to develop nuclear energy in their countries.
Against this background, it is worth noting the experience of Uzbekistan, which tries to cooperate in this field with several partners at the same time who are direct competitors to each other. In this way, a logical question arises for Tashkent: what can such a multi-vector approach ultimately lead to and does the country risk falling into the trap because of it? Today, the nuclear energy industry in Uzbekistan is only in the formative stage. The country does not yet have an operating nuclear power plant, but there is an industrial base for the development of this industry. According to the data of the Uzbek authorities, in 2025 7 thousand tons of uranium were mined in the country, and the declared proven reserves reached 139 thousand tons. At the same time, the country's resource base is not the only factor pushing Uzbekistan's leadership to develop nuclear energy. The main reason in this case can be called the rapidly increasing demand for electricity. According to the state authorities, by 2035 electricity consumption will reach 121 billion kWh. The republic simply will not be able to provide such a volume using existing resources, as well as renewable energy sources. That's why Tashkent focused its attention on nuclear energy, and initially turned to Russia for help. Back in 2018, Tashkent and Moscow agreed to cooperate in building nuclear power plants with large reactors according to the Russian design.