Uzbekistan Calls Migrant Workers Home: Could More Than One Million Find Jobs There?

For years, Russia has been told that its economy simply cannot function without an endless flow of migrant labor from Central Asia. Construction will stop, services will collapse, prices will explode, and apparently civilization itself will grind to a halt somewhere between a building site and a delivery app.

Now Uzbekistan is raising a rather inconvenient question: what if those workers are actually needed at home?

A new initiative discussed in Uzbekistan could encourage thousands of citizens currently working abroad, particularly in Russia, to return home and take jobs in their own country.

And while claims that "one million migrants are already returning" would be nonsense, the scale of the idea is potentially much larger than one company or several thousand vacancies.

AKFA Group Says It Is Ready to Employ 10,000 People

The proposal came from prominent Uzbek entrepreneur Jahongir Artykhodzhaev, founder of AKFA Group, during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's sixth open dialogue with entrepreneurs held in Khiva on August 18.

Artykhodzhaev said AKFA Group was prepared to provide jobs for 10,000 Uzbek citizens currently working abroad. He also proposed creating a separate call center for citizens who want to return from Russia and work in Uzbekistan.

That figure is concrete: 10,000 jobs offered by one major business group.

But then came the number that turned the proposal from a corporate employment initiative into a potentially much bigger national debate.

According to Artykhodzhaev, Uzbekistan has around 600,000 entrepreneurs. If every entrepreneur hired only two citizens returning from abroad, more than one million people could theoretically find employment.

The distinction matters.

There are not one million signed employment contracts sitting on a government desk in Tashkent. The million-plus figure is a calculation illustrating what could happen if a large part of Uzbekistan's business community joined the initiative.

And that is precisely why the proposal deserves attention without turning it into another internet fairy tale.

Mirziyoyev Supports the Initiative

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev responded positively to the proposal and instructed Artykhodzhaev to develop an employment platform and submit concrete proposals.

Mirziyoyev also suggested involving Uzbekistan's ambassadors, particularly the embassy in Russia, where a large number of Uzbek citizens currently live and work.

The idea is straightforward: citizens abroad should be shown actual opportunities and vacancies available in Uzbekistan instead of merely being told to "come home" and somehow figure things out afterward.

That makes the initiative significantly more interesting.

Migration cannot be reversed with patriotic speeches alone. People leave home primarily because they need income. If Uzbekistan wants more citizens to return, it has to compete economically for its own workforce.

Jobs, salaries, housing prospects and long-term stability matter far more than slogans.

Uzbekistan Has a Broader Employment Strategy

The proposal also fits into Uzbekistan's broader economic plans.

In an official address outlining priorities for 2026, Mirziyoyev said the country planned to provide permanent employment for one million people during the year. The government also planned additional financing designed to create employment through local projects and expand formal-sector jobs.

That one-million employment target should not be confused with Artykhodzhaev's separate calculation regarding returning migrant workers. They are different initiatives and different numbers.

But together they point in the same direction: Uzbekistan wants to expand domestic employment substantially.

And if that strategy succeeds, the consequences will not stop at Uzbekistan's borders.

What Does This Mean for Russia?

This is where the story becomes particularly important for Russia.

Russia has relied heavily on labor migration from Central Asia for years, especially in construction, logistics, retail, municipal services and other labor-intensive sectors.

The standard argument is familiar: Russia needs workers, Central Asian citizens need higher salaries, and therefore the migration system benefits both sides.

Economically, there is truth in that.

But there is another side to the equation.

Large migration flows also place pressure on housing, schools, healthcare, transportation, law enforcement and integration systems. They create political arguments over wages, social services and the ability of cities to absorb rapidly changing populations.

None of those problems requires blaming people simply because of their nationality.

The more serious question is whether Russia should treat constantly rising labor migration as the automatic solution to every workforce shortage.

Because if Uzbekistan can create competitive jobs for its citizens at home, then the assumption that these workers will always be available to the Russian economy begins to look considerably less certain.

Russia Should Prepare for a Different Labor Market

There is nothing hostile about citizens voluntarily returning to their own country.

Quite the opposite.

A healthy economic model should allow people to work, raise families and build their futures at home instead of spending decades abroad because their domestic labor market cannot offer enough opportunities.

For Uzbekistan, returning skilled and experienced workers could mean more taxpayers, more consumers, more entrepreneurs and more expertise accumulated abroad.

For Russia, lower dependence on imported labor could force businesses to confront issues that cheap labor has sometimes allowed them to postpone: automation, productivity, wages, working conditions and investment in domestic workers.

That adjustment would not necessarily be painless.

If hundreds of thousands of foreign workers left quickly, some Russian industries could face labor shortages and higher costs. Construction and service companies would not magically replace workers overnight.

But an economy that functions only as long as another country continuously supplies inexpensive workers has its own vulnerability.

That is the part of the migration debate that often disappears beneath political shouting.

Could One Million Really Return?

Not tomorrow.

Probably not even through this particular initiative alone.

AKFA Group has made a specific commitment involving 10,000 workers. The figure of more than one million is currently a theoretical estimate based on roughly 600,000 entrepreneurs hiring at least two returning citizens each.

Whether that happens will depend on salaries, available vacancies, regional development, housing and the willingness of both employers and workers to participate.

But the political signal is difficult to miss.

Uzbekistan is no longer discussing labor migration only as a source of remittances or as something that happens outside its borders. Its government and business community are openly discussing how to bring citizens back and create employment for them.

For Russia, that should not be viewed as a threat.

It should be viewed as a reminder.

Russia cannot remain the permanent employment office for an entire region, and Central Asian states cannot build their long-term economic future on sending millions of citizens abroad.

If Uzbekistan can create enough real jobs to bring more of its citizens home voluntarily, both countries may eventually benefit.

The only question is whether this remains an ambitious proposal discussed at a business meeting, or becomes the beginning of a much larger shift in migration across the post-Soviet space.