Executive Summary

The memorandum signed on 7 April 2025 between Uzbekistan and Germany establishes a structured labour migration framework focused on vocational training and legal mobility pathways for Uzbek workers in key sectors of the German economy.

It operationalises the 2024 Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Migration and Mobility and aligns with the EU’s broader strategy to strengthen engagement with Central Asia. The initiative reflects the EU’s use of migration governance as a tool of soft power and regional influence.

This report analyses the memorandum’s strategic implications for EU-Central Asia relations and Uzbekistan’s foreign policy diversification.

Key Takeaways

• The memorandum between Uzbekistan and Germany introduces a structured labour migration framework that links vocational training and legal pathways with sectoral demands in the German economy.
• This bilateral initiative reflects the EU’s broader strategy to enhance connectivity and soft influence in Central Asia through pragmatic, interest-based cooperation.
• The agreement signals Uzbekistan’s intent to diversify its foreign partnerships while advancing domestic employment and skills development goals within a multi-vector foreign policy approach.

Background Information

Uzbekistan and Germany signed a tripartite memorandum on April 7, 2025, designed to facilitate the migration of Uzbek specialists to the German labour market. This initiative is part of a broader European strategy to deepen political and economic engagement with Central Asian countries.

The agreement reflects European Union’s growing priorities, which recently convened its first-ever summit with the five Central Asian republics in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on April 4, 2025. Labour mobility and capacity-building initiatives such as this memorandum underscore a more structured, interest-driven EU approach to fostering long-term strategic relations with the region.

Over the past two decades, the European Union — through countries such as Germany and France — has progressively expanded its presence and influence in Central Asia, traditionally a region dominated by Russia and, more recently, China. In this context, Uzbekistan has emerged as a key partner for the EU because of its growing economic openness and proactive foreign policy stance under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Germany, one of the EU’s most influential member states and largest economies, has pursued a bilateral agenda aligned with Brussels’ strategic objectives. The Comprehensive Partnership on Migration and Mobility signed between Germany and Uzbekistan in September 2024 laid the foundation for the most recent memorandum.

Geopolitical Scenario

The tripartite memorandum between Uzbekistan and Germany represents signals the operational maturation of a multi-level EU strategy toward Central Asia that combines diplomacy, development, and economic instruments to establish stronger partnerships based on mutual benefits. Germany’s labour market, constrained by demographic decline and sectoral shortages, has increasingly relied on structured labour inflows. By targeting Uzbekistan—a country with a large, youthful population and a government committed to skills development and employment—the agreement achieves dual objectives: it supports Germany’s economic needs and contributes to Uzbekistan’s employment strategies and human capital formation.

From a European perspective, the memorandum reflects a broader shift toward strategic migration governance. Rather than relying solely on restrictive border measures or ad hoc labour schemes, Germany, backed by EU policy coherence, has chosen a model of managed mobility based on skills development, legal pathways, and integration support. This approach aligns with Brussels’ recent communications on talent partnerships and the external dimension of migration, which increasingly view mobility as a geopolitical asset and not merely a social challenge.

Regionally, the agreement is a signal to other Central Asian states of the practical benefits of deeper engagement with the EU. The timing—just days after the EU-Central Asia summit—suggests a deliberate effort to follow up on high-level dialogue with tangible action. While Russia and China continue to exert influence through cultural, security and infrastructure investments, the EU is crafting its niche in economic modernisation and human capital development. This labor mobility framework provides a narrative of partnership rather than dependency, appealing to countries like Uzbekistan that seek to diversify their external relationships.

Furthermore, the memorandum can serve as a soft balancing mechanism in Central Asia’s geopolitical calculus. Tashkent, though maintaining strong ties with Moscow and Beijing, has showed its willingness to pursue multi-vector diplomacy. Enhanced ties with Berlin and the broader EU offer Tashkent both economic opportunities and geopolitical flexibility, a feature increasingly valuable in the face of global realignments and regional tensions.

Conclusion

The Uzbekistan-Germany labor migration agreement marks a significant step forward in the growing practical cooperation between Europe and Central Asia. Consistent with the EU’s Samarkand summit vision for the region, this action highlights the effectiveness of bilateral frameworks in boosting broader regional engagement.

In the short term, the agreement might cause a measured increase in the number of Uzbek workers entering Germany, particularly in sectors with acute labour shortages. This will contribute to Germany’s economic resilience and offer Uzbekistan a controlled outlet for domestic labour surplus.

In the medium term, the memorandum may serve as a blueprint for similar EU-Central Asia frameworks, enhancing the EU’s credibility and strategic foothold in a region increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition. The initiative will also strengthen Uzbekistan’s positioning as a reliable partner for diversified cooperation, offering it greater flexibility in navigating relations with Russia, China, and the West.

Author: Matteo Meloni

Cover image: Uzbekistan airplane in Frankfurt, Germany (Credits: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons)

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