New Delhi, July 10 -- as ore or basic concentrate, carrying a fraction of the value it would hold if processed further before crossing the border. That is the model Timur Hikmatullayev intends to end. He leads $4.2 billion worth of metals processing projects designed to ensure that Uzbekistan's copper, steel, and associated mineral wealth travels across borders in a form that has absorbed more of the country's labour and more of the profit margin before it leaves Central Asia.

Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov is running a parallel operation. His target this year is $4.5 billion in processed food exports. By 2030, he wants $10 billion. Uzbekistan exported mostly fresh fruit and raw grain to Russia and post-Soviet markets for mo...