Uzbekistan appoints its first Ambassador to South Africa

Uzbekistan’s first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Africa, Ashraf Khojaev, presented his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Hotel in Pretoria on October 2. This was reported by the South African Presidential Administration.

The 44-year-old diplomat graduated from the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, the National University of Uzbekistan, and Peking University. He holds a PhD in Economics.

Khojaev began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2005 as a reference officer. Over the years, he has held various positions in the ministry’s central office, as well as at Uzbekistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Embassy in the United Kingdom.

Since 2018, Ashraf Khojaev has served as the head of a department, the general department, and as director of the Economic Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Uzbekistan’s first ambassador to Qatar in February 2024.