Uzbekistan and the United States are expanding the horizons of multifaceted cooperation

On September 15 this year, on the eve of the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M.Mirziyoyev to the United States of America, the Uzbekistan-US Business Forum was held in Washington, D.C. It was attended by the heads of key ministries and departments, industry associations, commercial banks and investment structures of the two countries, as well as heads of large US corporations engaged in the fields of ICT, engineering, agriculture, light industry, transport, banking and other areas.

The speakers at the opening ceremony of the forum were Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Carolyn Lamm, Chairwoman of the Board, American-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce, Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, EXIM Bank of the USA, and John Mark Pommersheim, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia.

The speeches emphasized rapid dynamics in the development of trade, economic and investment relations between our countries, which was facilitated by the political will of the leadership, as well as the constant interaction of governments and business circles.

The Uzbek side presented key achievements in the development of the economy, trade, industry and improvement of the investment climate. In particular, along with other facts, the created mechanisms of free market and healthy competition, active support for entrepreneurship, infrastructural development, availability of energy resources, reduction of state participation in the economy and the launch of large-scale privatization processes were noted.

Thanks to the reforms carried out, Uzbekistan has become an attractive investment destination, including for American business circles. Today, 300 US companies operate in Uzbekistan, which is more than twice as many as in 2017. Success stories are observed in various sectors, including automobile manufacturing – General Motors, agricultural machinery – John Deer, CNH, gas production – Air Products, agriculture – Silverleafe and others.

At the same time, the most promising areas for the implementation of joint investment projects were identified, such as mining, chemical and energy industries, textile industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, electronics, information technology. There are great opportunities in the creation of joint ventures to manufacture products with high added value and their export to third countries.

The importance of strengthenin business contacts between the two countries and readiness to provide comprehensive state support in the implementation of all joint projects and initiatives were emphasized.

During the event, separate sessions were held on issues of global competition, ensuring the sustainability of supply chains, developing the business environment, stimulating innovation, strategic forecasting, privatization and financial and technical cooperation.

The work of the business forum continued with “G2B” and “B2B” meetings between the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations and leading companies of Uzbekistan and the USA. The participants were able to profoundly discuss the creation of joint ventures and the conclusion of mutually beneficial trade agreements.

As a result of the event, 12 documents were signed in the fields of energy, mechanical engineering, ICT, agriculture, financial, technical, scientific and technical cooperation, production of medical and pharmaceutical products.