President of Uzbekistan signs decree on digitalization of public procurement and AI to reduce corruption risks

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree “On Additional Measures to Ensure a Competitive Environment and Transparency in the Public Procurement System.”

The document sets targets for the digitalization of public procurement and the radical reduction of corruption risks in the sector by 2030.

A key innovation will be the widespread implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Starting 1 March 2026, a special information portal will launch an AI-based electronic module designed to automatically calculate the average market price of goods and services.

State customers will be required to set starting prices exclusively through this module.

The regulator introduces a strict corridor: if the difference between the procurement price and the AI-calculated market benchmark exceeds 10% upwards or falls below 20%, such a transaction will be automatically flagged as “high risk” and will serve as grounds for an immediate unscheduled inspection by control authorities.

The sector development strategy through 2030 envisages increasing the share of competitive procurement methods to 80% and achieving budget savings of 25 trillion soums.

To support national business, the share of locally produced goods in public procurement is planned to increase to at least 85%. From the beginning of 2026, local producers will automatically receive notifications of upcoming procurement plans, and budgetary customers will be allowed to enter into direct off-take contracts for three years with enterprises whose localization level exceeds 30%.

From 1 January 2026, the fixed list of goods and services eligible for direct procurement will be abolished; such purchases must now go through a competitive “request for proposals” procedure unless otherwise stipulated by law.

Any draft legal acts proposing direct contracts must undergo mandatory anti-corruption review and an assessment of their impact on competitive conditions by the Ministry of Justice and the Anti-Monopoly Committee.

To increase accountability, from March 2026 the chairpersons of procurement commissions may only be appointed from the top leadership of the contracting organizations or their deputies. Additionally, a digital “Procurement KPI” rating will be introduced, publicly displaying the efficiency of each agency.

The Anti-Corruption Agency has been instructed to integrate the platform e-anticor.uz with the public procurement portal by mid-2026 for automated remote detection of conflicts of interest.