Uzbekistan Eyes Kaizen Methods to Overhaul State and Industrial Management

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Umid Abidkhojayev met with Igor Pomochilin, Director of Development at the Kaizen Institute, in Tashkent on June 12 to discuss modernizing corporate management systems across both Uzbekistan's industrial base and its public sector.

The Kaizen Institute representative walked the ministry through the organization's global track record, its methodology for auditing existing operational processes, and case studies from successful management transformations in multiple countries. Sector examples presented spanned finance, logistics, heavy industry, and services.

At the core of the discussion was the kaizen philosophy of continuous incremental improvement — a Japanese management approach built on deep value-chain audits, lean resource utilization, steady productivity gains, and cultural transformation within organizations. Officials noted the method has demonstrated measurable effectiveness at leading multinational corporations worldwide.

The two sides identified three priority areas for potential cooperation: implementing modern operational management standards at Uzbekistan's strategic enterprises; improving the quality and speed of public service delivery; and developing human capital and institutional capacity across government bodies.

Both parties confirmed mutual interest in a systematic transfer of best-in-class international management practices to Uzbekistan's economic environment, with longer-term vectors of bilateral engagement mapped out by the close of the meeting.

The talks reflect a broader pattern in Tashkent's reform playbook: importing proven management frameworks from established international institutions to accelerate efficiency gains that domestic expertise alone has struggled to deliver at scale.