Climate & Water Risk: A new UNEP assessment says the world will likely cross 1.5°C soon, with Central Asia urged to plan for unavoidable impacts—especially water stress that hits irrigated agriculture and food systems. Nuclear Procurement Shift: Uzbekistan’s nuclear cooperation with Russia appears to be cooling after a Rosatom-linked project update omitted the Russian firm and pointed instead to a new consortium for oversight and independent assessments. Startup Finance Push: Uzbekistan will launch the “Future Entrepreneur” program (2027-2030), with IT Park Uzbekistan backing tech projects and UzVC funding up to 30 startups via interest-free convertible loans/SAFE; the state plans an initial 150bn soums. Digital Payments Link: At the IPU conference in Samarkand, BJP MP Raghav Chadha highlighted India’s UPI and the planned interoperability with Uzbekistan’s UZQR/UZCARD to simplify cross-border payments for travelers and students. Capital Markets Reform: UzNIF says governance changes and energy tariff reforms are helping it grow, while it plans to take six state-owned champions public over the next three years. Trade Corridor Momentum: China’s Kyrgyzstan-to-Andijan rail bypassing Russia is advancing, with a tunnel milestone that could cut China–Middle East/Europe transit times. Business Expansion Model: East West Barbershop touts “exporting” its franchising model, including operations across Uzbekistan, as it scales internationally.