Science and technology in Uzbekistan
Science and technology in Uzbekistan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.
Economic context
Economic performance
Since gaining independence in 1991, Uzbekistan and the other four Central Asian republics have gradually been moving from a state-controlled economy to a market economy. All five countries have pursued public policies which focus on buffering the political and economic spheres from external shocks. This includes maintaining a trade balance, minimizing public debt, and accumulating national reserves. The republics cannot totally insulate themselves from negative exterior forces, however. Particularly significant is the persistently weak recovery of global industrial production and international trade since 2008.Although both exports and imports have grown impressively over the past decade, the republics remain vulnerable to economic shocks, owing to their reliance on exports of raw materials, a restricted circle of trading partners, and a negligible manufacturing capacity.
Uzbekistan emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis, consistently recording economic growth of over 7% from 2007 onwards. The country is more or less self-sufficient in oil and natural gas and is a major exporter of cotton. Against a background of strong economic growth, the national development strategy is focusing on nurturing new high-tech industries and orienting the economy towards export markets.
Whereas Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan have been members of the World Trade Organization since 1998, 2013, and 2015 respectively, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have adopted a policy of self-reliance. Symptomatic of this policy is the lesser role played by foreign direct investment in Uzbekistan. It contributed just 1.6% of GDP in 2015, after peaking at 4.2% of GDP in 2010. In Uzbekistan, the state controls virtually all strategic sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, and finance, with foreign investors being relegated to less vital sectors, tourism for example.
;Funding for strategic economic sectors
Uzbekistan's anti-crisis package for 2009−2012 helped it to rebound from the 2008 financial crisis by injecting funds into strategic economic sectors. For the period up to 2015, these sectors were the energy, oil and gas industries; the chemical, textile and automobile industries; non-ferrous metals; engineering; pharmaceuticals; high-quality processing of agricultural products; and construction materials.
Each of these sectors tends to involve large companies equipped with design bureaux and laboratories. There are also specialized state institutions which actively promote innovation. These include the Agency for Technology Transfer, which transfers technology to the regions, the Scientific and Technical Information State Unitary Enterprise, and the Intellectual Property Agency of Uzbekistan.
Modernization of the economy
Like its Central Asian neighbours, Uzbekistan has been modernizing the industrial sector and fostering the development of service industries through business-friendly fiscal policies and other measures, to reduce the share of agriculture in GDP. Between 2005 and 2013, the share of agriculture dropped from 28% to 19% of GDP in Uzbekistan.One of these measures has been the creation, by decree, of free industrial zones to foster the modernization of all economic sectors. The Navoi region became the first FIZ in December 2008. It was followed by Angren in the Tashkent region in April 2012 and Djizak in the Sirdary region in March 2013. The enterprises established in these FIZ have already produced some inventions and are involved in public−private partnerships through which they co-finance projects in innovation with the Fund for the Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, set up in May 2006.
Science and technology
Research priorities
In 2012, the Committee for the Co-ordination of Science and Technology Development formulated eight priorities for research and development to 2020, based on the needs of industry.The first of these priorities is to construct an innovative economy by strengthening the rule of law. Innovation is perceived as a means of democratizing society in Uzbekistan. The ultimate goal of the ongoing legal reform is to harness innovation to solving socio-economic problems and enhancing economic competitiveness. The contours of a draft law on innovation and innovative activity were first outlined in the presidential decree of January 2011 devoted to deepening democratic reforms, including by strengthening the status of local representatives. This draft bill also sets out to create an effective mechanism for the testing, deployment and commercial development of promising scientific work. It outlines additional incentives and rewards for enterprises that develop innovative projects, especially in high-tech industries. In 2014, the draft law was subjected to public scrutiny to encourage debate.
The second and third research priorities to 2020 concern energy and resource savings, as well as the development of renewable energy use. In March 2013, two research institutes were created by presidential decree to foster the development of alternative energy sources, with funding from the Asian Development Bank and other institutions: the SPU Physical−Technical Institute and the International Solar Energy Institute.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Comprehensive Research on Regional Problems of Samarkand has been transformed into a problem-solving laboratory on environmental issues within Samarkand State University. This is part of a reform instituted by decree in February 2012 by the Cabinet of Ministers. In all, more than 10 institutions of the Academy of Sciences are being re-organized, in order to re-orient academic research towards problem-solving and ensure continuity between basic and applied research. Another institute affected by the reform is the Mathematics and Information Technology Research Institute, which has been subsumed under the National University of Uzbekistan.
Information and communication technologies are one of the eight research priorities to 2020. According to the Thomson Reuters’ database, Uzbek research in computer sciences generated just four papers in international journals between 2008 and 2014.
The fifth research priority to 2020 encompasses agriculture, biotechnology, ecology and environmental protection and the sixth medicine and pharmacology. The seventh centres on chemical technologies and nanotechnologies and the eighth on Earth sciences, with a focus on geology, geophysics, seismology and raw mineral processing.
National Development Strategy 2017–2021
The National Development Strategy 2017–2021 articulates the science development agenda. It identifies as priority areas for reform the commercialization of research results and the creation of new research laboratories and advanced technology centres. Research institutes and universities are to be encouraged to engage in public–private partnerships to establish technoparks.The Ministry of Innovative Development was created in November 2017 to lead the implementation of STI policies. This move reflects the new government policy placing innovation at the heart of the development process.
Other key ministries are supporting this transformation, notably the Ministry of the Economy and Industry and the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications.
Several presidential decrees specify concrete measures to overhaul the science and research system, including funding for research institutes. For example, the presidential decree of November 2017 has approved the Programme for Strengthening the Infrastructure of R&D Organizations and Stimulating Innovation by 2021.
This programme earmarks US$32.3 million for renovating research institutes, purchasing scientific and laboratory equipment and supplying consumables. It includes a set of supporting activities in five broad areas: improving the efficiency of research institutes and deepening their integration with university research; attracting young scientists; developing stronger science–industry collaboration; improving intellectual property protection and technology transfer services; and ensuring access to international research databases and information.