Photo from President.Uz website
On April 23, 2026, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received Turkish Chief of the General Staff General Metin Gürak in Tashkent — one of Ankara's most influential military figures. The meeting was also attended by Uzbek Defense Minister Shuhrat Kholmukhamedov, who briefed the president on progress in implementing bilateral defense agreements, according to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan.
Gürak's visit to Tashkent reflects the rapidly accelerating military rapprochement between the two countries. Just months earlier, in January 2026, the general had accompanied President Erdoğan to the fourth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara, after which the two countries' defense ministers signed a military cooperation plan for 2026 and a separate agreement on military medicine. At the time, Defense Minister Kholmukhamedov stated explicitly that Turkish expertise would serve as a benchmark for modernizing the Uzbek armed forces.
The foundation of the current partnership was laid in March 2022, when Erdoğan's state visit to Tashkent produced a framework intergovernmental agreement on military and military-technical cooperation. Since then, the relationship has steadily deepened: Uzbekistan acquired Turkish Bayraktar attack drones, and in 2025 the two sides agreed on the delivery of ANKA drones produced by TUSAŞ. In January 2026, Uzbekistan officially stood up its first combat unit equipped with Bayraktar systems. Joint exercises have also intensified — in October 2025, multinational drills dubbed «Birlik-2025» were held at the Kattakurgan training ground, drawing forces from member states of the Organization of Turkic States.
General Gürak, who has led the Turkish General Staff since August 2023, is a central figure in building Ankara's military ties across the Turkic world. His career includes command of the 2nd Army and a posting as a military adviser in Libya. His repeated visits to Tashkent suggest that the Uzbek-Turkish defense partnership is evolving into a full-fledged strategic alliance — one that now extends well beyond conventional military-technical cooperation.
