institutions and policies from those prevailing at the time of the planned economy. In late 2016, Uzbekistan surprised by launching … momentum was supported by comfortable external and fiscal buffers and a robust global economy. The buffers are still sizable …, even with doubling of public debt since 2017, and a sign of strength but the pull from the global economy has been …

and conflict and the region's complex and evolving political economy. This overview synthesizes the key findings of the … describes key aspects of the region's economy and development progress (Section 2). Next, in Section 3, it presents features of …