By Ben Aris in Berlin Privatisation in Uzbekistan is no new idea. Under the late President Islam Karimov, programmes in the late 1990s and 2000s existed and were ambitious in scope. But although multiple small state-owned enterprises (SOEs) did get privatised, major entities in mining, energy and manufacturing remained mostly untouched. Such limited success in reducing state control over larger industries meant a new take was needed as President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in late 2016. Privatisation as envisaged by Mirziyoyev aimed to present the country as a vibrant and reforming emergi…