This is CBS Eye on the World. I'm John Batch. It was back a stack, a large Central Asian

state with great, great promise. And in fact, a present as well, and I welcome Comran Bokare,

who is a senior director of Eurasian Security and Prosperity portfolio with the New Line's

Institute for Strategy and Policy, writing most recently at geopolitical futures about

his venture to Uzbekistan, his discovery of this state's place in Eurasian, in Central

Asia. These are the countries that during the early stages of the Afghanistan conflict,

the beginning of this century, were regarded as the stands. Well, the stands is not articulate.

Their distinct cultures, their post-Soviet, and their rich and natural resources, and

in Uzbekistan's case, a huge population, 36 million estimate and rising. Comran, a very

good evening to you. How do you see Uzbekistan fitting into Central Asia now and in the immediate

future? Good evening to you. Hi, John. Thanks for having me again. So look, as you said,

there's great potential for Uzbekistan. There is a young population, a leadership that

you know, tickly comes from, at least the top level leadership, comes from the Soviet era,

but really is pushing a genuine reform agenda. They face quite many constraints, and we

can talk about them here, but it's worth highlighting that under President Shafkat Miziyev,

who used to be Prime Minister, under the old President, Mr. Islam Karimov, who passed

away in office in 2016, and was a very impressive ruler. You know, if you look at the origins

and the starting point, then you can appreciate what the President of Uzbekistan, the current

President of Uzbekistan is trying to do, and the strides that he has made in seven years. Now,

obviously, you know, Uzbekistan is not going to become Wisconsin anytime soon, and I think it's

unfair to sort of measure them against that if we place their, you know, their place, the

country in its historical context. This is a country that for close to 120 years was under,

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