Uzbekistan looks to soften image of notorious cotton sector

Uzbekistan - an ex-Soviet nation of 33 million in Central Asia - is the world's sixth largest producer of cotton. Since the Soviet period, centralised and later national production targets have led to forced labour. Uzbekistan's current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has denounced the use of forced labour and promised to eradicate state quotas by 2023.