Uzbekistan hosted one of the most extensive military exercises in the history of the Central Asian region, capping the October 2025 event with the first summit of all five Central Asian defense ministers.
Birlik-2025, which ran for a week, brought together Soldiers from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan at the Kattakurgan training ground near Samarkand and at more than 20 other training sites across Uzbekistan. Birlik means unity.
The multiphase training aimed to improve interoperability, tactical coordination and combat readiness among joint forces, with a focus on counterterrorism and defensive operations. The drills used computer modeling and simulation for field training that included unmanned aerial vehicles, special operations raids and combined arms operations with artillery barrages and airstrikes.
At the end of Birlik-2025, defense ministers from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Samarkand to discuss topics such as border security. The ministers discussed expanding military cooperation and conducting additional joint training, including coordinating military education, technical cooperation and exercise planning.
In addition to taking the initiative to improve relations with its four post-Soviet Central Asian neighbors, Uzbekistan is engaging with partners from outside the region.
In late September 2025, the Uzbekistan Ministry of Defense hosted a bilateral joint command staff exercise in Tashkent with Azerbaijan called Maharat-2025. Uzbekistan’s special forces also trained with Azerbaijani troops, as well as Soldiers from Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar and Türkiye, at the Eternal Brotherhood-IV exercise in September.
Sources: The Times of Central Asia, The Caspian Post, Uzbekistan Ministry of Defense