Uzbekistan sets goal of raising migrant remittances to $50 billion a year

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at a meeting on labour migration on November 2, set the task of raising annual remittances from abroad to $50 billion. He said the country was not making sufficiently effective use of existing opportunities in labour migration and called for a fundamental review of state policy in this area.

According to the president, raising the incomes of citizens working abroad would improve their families' well-being and bring to the country specialists with international experience. Mirziyoyev said the number of Uzbeks working abroad had halved over the past ten years, while the money they send home had quadrupled to more than $20 billion.

Mirziyoyev also criticised the work of ambassadors, governors and technical college heads. He said it was unacceptable for migrants to earn $400 and that they should earn at least $2,000 abroad. Central Bank data show that remittances from abroad reached $18.9 billion in 2025, an increase of 28 percent, or $4.1 billion, over 2024.