Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Around half of the 33,000 standards currently in force in Uzbekistan are outdated or fail to meet international requirements, creating obstacles to the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The issue was among the reasons for a parliamentary inquiry addressed to Ansabkhon Zakirov, director of the Agency for Technical Regulation, the press service of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan’s parliament reported.
The inquiry was initiated by the faction of the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP) and the Committee on Entrepreneurship, Competition Development and Industry. MPs requested explanations on the progress of reforms in technical regulation, the updating of standards, digitalisation of the sector and measures to reduce corruption risks.
Speaking at the session, MP Nodira Jonibekova said reforms in technical regulation, standardisation, metrology and conformity assessment were aimed at ensuring product safety, reducing technical barriers to trade and improving the competitiveness of local businesses.
According to her, around half of the approximately 33,000 standards currently in force in the country are outdated or do not meet international requirements. Jonibekova stressed that this remains a significant obstacle to Uzbekistan’s WTO accession, as aligning the technical regulation system with international standards is one of the key membership requirements.
In addition to updating the regulatory framework, the MP pointed to insufficient efforts to identify and reduce corruption risks, as well as the need to accelerate the introduction of digital technologies in the sector.
According to the Legislative Chamber’s press service, the parliamentary inquiry also concerns preventing excessive bureaucracy and conflicts of interest. The full list of the four questions on which the agency head must provide substantiated explanations was not announced at the session.
Technical regulation reforms remain part of Uzbekistan’s broader WTO accession process. At the 13th meeting of the Working Party on Uzbekistan’s accession in July 2026, the president’s representative for WTO affairs, Azizbek Urunov, said the country aimed to complete the process by the end of the year.
According to Spot.uz, 31 of the 34 bilateral market access protocols had already been submitted to the WTO Secretariat. However, Working Party Chair Sung-yo Choi has noted that the adoption of some legislative reforms is progressing more slowly than expected.
