Sodyq Safoev is a distinguished statesman, diplomat, and academic who currently serves as the First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis and Rector of UWED. He holds both a Bachelor and Master of Science in Economics from Tashkent State University (currently Uzbekistan National University) and completed his doctoral research in 1984 on the topic of labor productivity in industry. He further enriched his academic credentials as a visiting scholar at the Harvard University Institute for International Development.

Over the course of his career, Prof. Safoev has held numerous high-ranking positions in the diplomatic and political spheres. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Ambassador to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the OSCE, and later as Ambassador to the United States and Canada.

Fluent in Uzbek, English, and Russian, Professor Safoev is the author of numerous publications on economics, international security, and diplomacy. In recognition of his service to the nation, he has been awarded the “Mehnat Shuhrati” (2004), the “Dustlik” (2011), and the “Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun” (2019) Orders.