Uzbekistan is charting an ambitious new course in the global creative industries sector. In December 2025, leadership from Tashkent engaged with The Walt Disney Company to explore how the Central Asian nation could position itself as a regional powerhouse for children’s media production — a move that promises to reshape the country’s entertainment landscape and unlock fresh opportunities for international creative enterprises.
A regional production hub in the making
The strategic vision is clear: transform Tashkent into Central Asia’s go-to destination for producing children’s content that meets modern industry standards. The approach combines hands-on infrastructure development with talent cultivation, signaling serious intent to build a sustainable creative ecosystem rather than merely hosting sporadic productions.
Working in partnership with Hollywood specialists, Uzbekistan plans to develop a new generation of animators, directors, and screenwriters — addressing a critical talent gap in the region. “Our goal is to turn the capital of Uzbekistan into a regional hub for children’s content production. Together with Hollywood specialists, we plan to train a new generation of animators, directors, and screenwriters,” the statement emphasized.
Concrete projects and incentives
Three major initiatives are taking shape from these discussions. First comes Cinema Park, a creative facility designed specifically to attract international producers and companies. The park will offer preferential conditions and consolidate production facilities, educational services, technology infrastructure, and collaborative workspaces under one umbrella — creating the operational backbone for efficient content creation.
Second is the launch of a dedicated children’s television channel broadcasting exclusively in Uzbek language, developed in partnership with Disney. This venture addresses both content demand and the need to build local expertise in broadcast production and audience engagement.
Third, and perhaps most ambitious, is the long-term concept of establishing a Disneyland theme park in the region. While still in exploratory phases, this prospect carries significant implications for tourism development across Central Asia, potentially positioning Uzbekistan as a major destination for family entertainment tourism that could draw visitors across the broader region.
Central Asia’s gateway for Disney operations
Both parties also expressed interest in establishing The Walt Disney Company’s Central Asian regional headquarters in Uzbekistan. This would create an institutional anchor for Disney’s operations across the subregion and signal the company’s commitment to the market beyond individual projects.
The discussions represented more than preliminary talks. The company demonstrated tangible openness to supporting Uzbekistan’s initiative, including through expert consultation and organizational collaboration, indicating that Disney views the opportunity with genuine commercial and strategic interest rather than mere exploratory courtesy.
Significance for international business
For international companies in creative industries, media production, hospitality, tourism, construction, and related sectors, this development opens meaningful doors. Uzbekistan is signaling regulatory flexibility and investment in supporting infrastructure specifically designed to attract foreign businesses to operate within the country. The preferential conditions promised for Cinema Park, combined with the creation of a dedicated talent pipeline, establish concrete advantages for producers and studios considering where to establish production bases in Asia. The long-term theme park prospect additionally creates opportunities in design, construction, hospitality, and tourism infrastructure development. More broadly, Uzbekistan’s transformation into a content production hub reflects the country’s widening openness to foreign partnerships and its commitment to developing knowledge-intensive economic sectors — fundamentals that reshape investment calculus for companies evaluating Central Asian market entry or expansion strategies.
