CityUHK strengthens Central Asia partnerships: Vice-Ministerial engagement and MoU with Uzbekistan’s premier technical University

Venus Doon, HIM CHAK

05 Jun 2026

CityUHK delegation meets with Mr Salomov Uktam Rahimovich (7th from left), Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

A high-level university delegation led by Professor the Honourable Michael Ngai, Council Chairman of City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), continued its visit to Uzbekistan following a fruitful mission in Kazakhstan.

Mr Salomov Uktam Rahimovich (left) and Professor Ngai (right)

The delegation met with Mr Salomov Uktam Rahimovich, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to echo the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s positioning of Hong Kong as a ‘Super connector’ and to strengthen CityUHK’s academic and research ties with Belt and Road partners.

CityUHK signed an MoU with Tashkent State Technical University (TSTU), a leading institution in Uzbekistan, initiating research collaboration and a joint talent development programme. Founded in 1929, TSTU is one of the oldest and largest premier industrial-technical higher education institutions in Central Asia and enjoys a strong reputation for engineering and industrial technology education.

CityUHK and TSTU in Uzbekistan sign a MoU to deepen collaboration. The signing was witnessed by Professor Ngai (1st from right) and Dr Azimov Shavkat Shukhratovich (1st from left), with Professor Li (2nd from right) and Professor Donayev Sardor Burkhanovich (2nd from left) representing their respective institutions.

The MoU was signed by Professor Li Wen Jung, Vice-President (Talent and International Strategy) of CityUHK, and Professor Donayev Sardor Burkhanovich, Vice-Rector (Scientific Affairs and Innovations) of TSTU. It was witnessed by Professor Ngai and Dr Azimov Shavkat Shukhratovich, Vice-Rector for International Relations and Transformations at TSTU.

The agreement establishes initiatives including faculty and student exchanges, joint supervision of Master’s and PhD students, and collaborative research projects with joint funding applications. The two universities aim to work together to nurture top-tier scientific research and engineering professionals with a global perspective for the benefit of the region and the world.

The CityUHK delegation visits TSTU in Uzbekistan and engages in exchanges with Chinese Mainland students studying there.

The CityUHK delegation visits Uzbekistan’s INNO TechnoPark to learn about the latest local innovation and technology developments.

Professor Ngai stated that CityUHK has been actively aligning with the national Belt and Road Initiative, and has forward-looking planned its development in Central Asia. CityUHK is the first university in Hong Kong to establish a partnership with Kazakhstan. Building on this foundation, the latest collaboration with a leading technical university in Uzbekistan marks another major achievement of the delegation’s visit and represents a key milestone in expanding CityUHK’s network in Central Asia.

The delegation also visited INNO TechnoPark, Uzbekistan’s landmark innovation hub, to learn about developments in advanced manufacturing, robotics, biotechnology and start up incubation.

Professor Ngai explores innovation and technology products at Uzbekistan’s INNO TechnoPark.

Aligned with the Central Asia visit led by Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, the CityUHK delegation aimed to harness the unique strengths of Hong Kong’s higher education sector to foster innovation, technology and talent bridges with Belt and Road countries. The delegation also joined two official banquets co-organised by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, celebrating bilateral MoUs exchanged between Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in areas including talent development, innovation and green initiatives.

The four day mission concluded successfully, with CityUHK meeting with senior ministerial officials, signing three MoUs and engaging with leading universities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. These achievements further strengthen CityUHK’s strategic collaboration foundation in Central Asia. For more information about CityUHK’s visit to Central Asia, please visit www.cityu.edu.hk/ciro/CentralAsia.

CityUHK will continue to build global partnerships, promote academic and research collaboration, and advance cross regional knowledge exchange and talent development, contributing to solutions for global challenges. For more information about CityUHK’s global alliances, please visit www.cityu.edu.hk/ciro/Global-Collaborations.

Professor Ngai (2nd from left) and Professor Donayev Sardor Burkhanovich (1st from left) attend the dinner co-organised by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Uzbekistan.