Uzbekistan

Topic: Central Asia

Why in the news?

• Uzbekistan has accepted an Ambassador from Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, in a rare diplomatic triumph for the internationally isolated regime. The envoy is Abdul Ghafar Bahr, who formerly served as a judicial official in southern Kandahar province and Kabul.

Source: The Hindu 

About Uzbekistan:

• It is located in Central Asia. 
• It is one of two doubly landlocked countries in the world i.e. a landlocked country completely surrounded by other landlocked countries.
• It is surrounded by five countries: 
  • Kazakhstan to the north
  • Kyrgyzstan to the northeast
  • Tajikistan to the southeast
  • Afghanistan to the south
  • Turkmenistan to the southwest
• It is part of the Turkic world, as well as a member of the Organization of Turkic States.
• Uzbek is the official language and spoken by the majority of its inhabitants, while Russian and Tajik are significant minority languages. 
• Islam is the predominant religion, and most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims.