Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company (AUIC), established by the governments of the two countries, will join a joint venture to build a packaging film plant in the Alat Free Economic Zone.
The partners in the US$117.7 million project will be the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund (ABDF), operating under the Ministry of Economy, and India’s UFlex Group.
The agreement was signed at the second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku. The parties exchanged documents at a ceremony attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Baku forum: key outcomes
A total of 23 agreements worth US$10.8 billion were signed at the forum in areas including artificial intelligence, renewable energy, industry and finance. Participants discussed regional connectivity, the Middle Corridor, industrial and free economic zones, energy and the green transition, digital transformation and capital markets.
Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov described the forum’s outcomes as “a clear indication of growing investor confidence in Azerbaijan”.
He said investments on this scale would support economic diversification, technology adoption, growth in added value and employment.
Plant with annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes
The facility will be located on a 4.7-hectare site in the Alat Free Economic Zone. It will have a designed annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes of packaging products.
The plant will focus on exports and the development of Azerbaijan’s non-oil and gas sector. The project is currently at the pre-construction stage.
UFlex Group will serve as the project’s industry partner. Founded in 1985, the company specialises in packaging films, materials and production technologies.
It exports products to more than 150 countries and operates manufacturing facilities in nine countries.
“The project meets all the key criteria of our mandate: the non-resource sector, an export-oriented model and a strong industry partner. For AUIC, it is important to participate in projects where Azerbaijani and Uzbek capital helps establish production facilities serving international markets,” said AUIC Chief Executive Officer Nazim Hajiyev.
What else is in AUIC’s portfolio
AUIC was established by the governments of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in 2023, with share capital of US$500 million. The company takes minority stakes in projects in both countries and invests between US$1 million and US$25 million in each project. As of June 2026, its investment portfolio stood at approximately US$144 million.
To date, AUIC has invested US$2 million in the American University of Technology in Tashkent, US$1.7 million in a joint venture with Engineering+ to manufacture immersion-cooled data centre equipment, and US$15 million in a local retail chain.
In July 2026, at a meeting of the intergovernmental commission in Tashkent, AUIC, AzerGold and Uzbekgeologorazvedka signed a term sheet for the establishment of a joint venture for geological exploration in Uzbekistan.
AUIC is also investing in the construction of SABIS International School, which will be located in New Tashkent. The school is designed to accommodate more than 2,400 students, from kindergarten through to Grade 12.
The school will join the international SABIS education network, founded in Lebanon in 1886. Teaching is planned to follow Cambridge programmes (Primary, IGCSE, AS and A Level), as well as the American Advanced Placement (AP) programme.
