Paper long abstract:

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, stated that Uzbek authorities acted unfairly towards Turkish entrepreneurs in the past. If these unfair treatments continue, it would be impossible to gain back the trust of Turkish investors. Uzbek President clearly announced that from that time on a “treason to Turkish investors was a treason to the state policies”.

These strong words were a reflection of a sincere apology for the wrongdoings of Uzbek government officials to Turkish businessmen which started during the mid-2000s and ended by 2016 with the death of ex-president Karimov.

The rationale behind my study is that when doing business or entering the market in Uzbekistan, one should not only consider the official legal framework that regulates the activities of foreign investors and businessmen.

It seems that there are some unwritten codes that would determine the destiny of one’s investments in this country.

The businessmen that come from the Republic of Turkey supposedly have certain qualities which make their acceptance easier compared to other investors in Uzbekistan. Turkish businessman, culturally and linguistically, has a lot of advantages compared to other investors who invest in Uzbekistan.

Can we even claim that being of Turkish descent would only be meaningful only when there exist good relations among Turkey’s and Uzbekistan’s political elites and this connection would not mean anything if this entente between the state elites fades away?

Would, being from the same ethnic, linguistic and cultural descent be counterproductive as these people would easily find themselves as a party within the political cleavages and informal governance structures that already exist in the host country? They would either prefer to take part or being pulled down to the domestic political struggles by one of the parties in host countries' politics.

When one makes investments and business in a foreign country, they first look to the security, profitability, and tax laws. If they think that they would be safe, make money and transfer this money back home. If one of these three is problematic then they think twice or three times.

In countries like Uzbekistan next to the existing laws, invisible and informal cultural or business codes do also matter. Respect to these invisible/informal business codes and practices makes communication easier and it also makes the conduct of business safer and sustainable, though they might be seen as instances of illegality and corruption from a legal standpoint.