Uzbekistan is on the threshold of a decisive and rigorous fight against corruption

On December 26, 2025, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered his annual Address to the Oliy Majlis and the people of Uzbekistan, in which he summarized the results of the year and outlined the priority directions of the republic’s development in the medium term perspective.
President of Uzbekistan has set large-scale tasks for further improvement of the public administration system, outlined medium-term goals for the economic bloc of the government and pointed out promising directions of social development.
In his address, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the topic of combatting corruption stood out in terms of its tone and determination which became a kind of warning signal to the state and society. The Leader of Uzbekistan announced a “state of emergency” in the fight against corruption in 2026, calling this scourge a serious threat that hinders the development of the state, undermines justice and the rule of law and weakens the atmosphere of trust in society.
The transition from declarations to a hard political line is evidenced by the President’s statement that the admission of corruption is a betrayal of reforms and that no one will be left without control, regardless of their position and ranks.
These words are not just a declaration of intent and a voice of the position from the high stands. They are backed up by real actions. Just a few days later, on December 30, 2025, President signed a decree aimed at further improving the system of preventing and fighting against corruption which is a fundamental step forward in the anti-corruption policy of Uzbekistan.
The decree fundamentally changes the system of fighting against corruption in the country transition from reactive measures (punishment only) to systematic management of corruption risks, formation of unified management and certification standards, strengthening the role of digital platforms and information transparency, protection and promotion of civic participation and interdepartmental cooperation on an ongoing basis.
This means that the fight against corruption becomes an integrated part of public administration, and not a separate area of law enforcement.
The new decree introduces modern tools for management and evaluation of effectiveness; increases the responsibility of heads for results; formalizes digital mechanisms of interaction; strengthens social motivation in the fight against this scourge.
In addition, the document provides for the formation of unified mechanisms of interaction between all participants in anti-corruption activities on the basis of the cluster model. Its purpose is to identify and eliminate corruption risks even before they are transformed into offences.
The cluster model involves cross-sectoral collaboration of the state, the expert community and civil society institutions. This is an important step towards the integration of the efforts of different institutions. By doing so, the state moves beyond the models where the fight against corruption is conducted by only one department and brings the system closer to collective risk management.
In fact, the new document changes the logic of anti-corruption policy in Uzbekistan.
And this is not without reason, because the fight against corruption is among the priority tasks on the agenda of the Head of Uzbekistan. After taking office as President in December 2016, one of the first system-forming laws signed by Shavkat Mirziyoyev was the Law “On Combatting Corruption” on January 4, 2017.
The following years are marked by the formation of institutional foundations and a fundamentally new stage in the fight against this scourge. A specialized anti-corruption body was created, the digitalization of public services was actively developed, transparency mechanisms in the field of licensing and public procurement were introduced and the practice of anti-corruption expertise of legislation was formed.
In 2024-2025, special attention was paid to the development of internal anti-corruption mechanisms in state bodies. Compliance-services began to be considered as a tool for early detection of corruption risks and increasing the personal responsibility of heads.
This approach is consistent with international practice and indicates the desire to build self-regulation mechanisms in the state apparatus.
The introduction of the anti-corruption cluster model from 2026 has become an institutional expression of the new approach.
Thus, Uzbekistan is consistently moving from a punitive anti-corruption model to a systemic, preventive and institutionally oriented policy. And President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Adress to the parliament and people of Uzbekistan serves as a starting point and ideological support in the rigorous fight against corruption and the achievement of the strategic goals of the state until 2030.