Does the Uzbek language have potential to be a lingua franca in Central Asia? Hear me out on this: I am talking about the 5 countries of core Central Asia. Will Uzbek be a commonly spoken language in the future? It is a minority language recognized in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan and Russia. There are Uzbek minorities in all the Middle Asian countries, so it's possible to hear Uzbek spoken in multiple countries. 

And while Kazakhstan is the richest in the region and has highest standard of living, Uzbekistan has the most people which has more opportunity to spread out and influence its surrounding neighbors. Could it be possible that Uzbek can be a lingua franca like Russian in the future?