ISLAMABAD, January 6. /Dunyo IA/.  A leading Pakistani publication, “World News”, has published a series of articles highlighting recent developments in Uzbekistan, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

In a report titled “Tashkent International Airport Served Nearly 10 Million Passengers in 2025”, the publication notes that Tashkent International Airport retained its status as the country’s largest aviation hub. Throughout 2025, the airport maintained regular flights to countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the CIS.

“According to official data, the growth was driven by the expansion of the route network, increased flight frequency, and overall enhanced passenger mobility, highlighting the sustained development of the transport infrastructure and Tashkent’s growing role as Uzbekistan’s primary gateway by air”, - the article emphasizes.

Another piece, titled “Uzbekistan’s women chess players rise in updated FIDE rankings”, reports that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) published its updated rankings for January 2026. Notably, the Uzbek women’s national team entered the top 15 for the first time in history.

“Having delivered a commendable performance at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, which concluded recently in Qatar, the Uzbekistan women’s national team climbed to 12th place.Note that this ranking is based on the average ratings of ten players. The strong performances of our women’s chess players, such as Umida Omonova, Gulrukhbegim Tohirjonova, and Afruza Hamdamova, who finished among the top eight at the World Championship, had a positive impact on improving our overall indicators”, - the report states.

The publication also highlighted Uzbekistan’s plan to increase the number of international visitors to 20 million by 2030.

According to the article, the Uzbek government has presented a comprehensive plan for the development of tourism for 2026–2030. “The strategy envisions comprehensive expansion of both international and domestic tourism through creating favorable conditions for visitors, developing infrastructure, introducing cultural and entertainment programs, and increasing exports of tourism services.

According to the strategy, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country is expected to grow from 12 million in 2026 to 20 million by 2030.

Domestic tourism will also be actively promoted: under the “Travel Around Uzbekistan!” program, 24 million domestic trips are planned for 2026, rising to 25 million by 2030.

Special attention will be given to pilgrimage tourism, which is expected to increase from 2 million visitors in 2026 to 3 million by 2030.

The “Uzbekistan-2030” Strategy aims to make the country’s tourism sector highly developed and competitive, ensuring comprehensive growth of both domestic and international visitor flows and creating modern tourism infrastructure across the regions”, - the report concludes.