A report from the U.S. State Department called Trafficking in Persons (TIP) highlights Uzbekistan’s failure to address forced labor within the agricultural sector, according to The Diplomat. The Central Asian country made strides in reducing forced child labor, but has since used adults as a source of work fodder. Uzbekistan is the fifth-largest cotton exporter in the world.
Uzbekistan may enhance bi-lateral trade with Pakistan as a safeguard against lower commodity prices and a downtrodden world economy. Uzbekistan is a relatively new nation, which gained independence in 1991 and remains a developing nation. The economy enjoyed 8.0% GDP growth in 2015.
Uzbekistan and Pakistan have shared low trade volume throughout the years, and it remains to be seen if increased trade will benefit both nations. Uzbekistan is a top cotton producer, achieving 7.0% growth for agricultural products in 2015.
Uzbekistan has been a known user of forced labor for agricultural projects, such as harvesting cotton. Nevertheless, the World Bank plans to provide more than $500 million in financing to the Uzbekistan government for agricultural projects.
While most countries in Moscow’s economic orbit are nervously eyeing tough times ahead, Uzbekistan is adopting a bullish line on its economic prospects.
International financial organizations are predicting problems for Central Asian economies in the coming year. Central Asian states “will be affected by Russia’s deepening recession through multiple channels, especially trade, remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), and risk premiums,” a report recently issued by the International Monetary Fund stated.
Uzbekistan is a lower income economy comes under Europe and Central Asian as to the classification made by the World Bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
The country has a total surface area of 447.4 thousand square kilometers as in 2005, with a forest area of 32,950 square kilometers.
DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL INDICATORS
The total population of the country as in the year 2005 has reached at 26.6 millions, with an annual percentage growth rate of 1.5.
The violence that has claimed scores of lives in Kyrgyzstan is frequently ascribed to ethnic tensions, but regional experts say the causes are more complex.
“I don’t believe in a narrative of long-simmering ethnic tension,” Alexander A. Cooley, a professor at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and an authority on Central Asia, said in a telephone interview.
Indeed, ethnic distinctions between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz are so slight as to be hardly distinguishable, Professor Cooley and others say.
