President Mirziyoyev issued Decree No. PQ-358 in October 2024 approving the Strategy for AI Technology Development until 2030. A follow-up Presidential Decree in October 2025 set concrete targets: launching more than 100 AI projects by 2026, establishing 15 scientific laboratories in universities, and attracting investments exceeding $1 billion by 2030. The October 2025 decree also set a goal to train five million AI specialists by 2030 and to drastically reduce bureaucracy through digital transformation. The Ministry of Digital Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Preschool and School Education and UNICEF to jointly develop a National AI Concept in Education. A Cyber University was created to train specialists in AI, information security, and the digital economy. State grant quotas for AI-related university fields have been increased by 35%.
Who it affects: University students and vocational trainees gain access to expanded AI programmes. The five-million-person training goal targets the broader workforce. The National AI Concept in Education MoU initiates the process for integrating AI into schools but has not yet produced a mandatory curriculum.
What is notably missing: The AI strategy and presidential decrees are administrative instruments; Uzbekistan has no enacted AI law. The National AI Concept in Education is under joint development and has not been implemented as a binding curriculum. The five-million training goal is an aspiration with no legal obligation on employers. There is no defined minimum training standard for workers, no independent AI regulator with enforcement powers, and no enforcement mechanism for AI training obligations.