Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 23 October, a meeting with business circles of Switzerland was held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, during which issues of deepening bilateral Uzbek-Swiss cooperation in the service sector were discussed.

The meeting was attended by First Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Islom Jasimov, President of the Union of Chambers of Commerce of Switzerland and the CIS countries G. Mettan, General Director of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Services V. Subilia.

During the meeting, the Swiss delegation got acquainted with the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan to improve the investment climate, liberalize the economy, and ensure the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of entrepreneurs.

In his speech, Islom Jasimov mentioned that currently 87 enterprises with the participation of Swiss capital are operating in Uzbekistan and hoped that the number of such enterprises will increase in the coming years.

In turn, Guy Mettan expressed his gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce for the warm welcome and noted that the Uzbek-Swiss cooperation will serve the further development in the fields of education, health and banking services.

The business circles of the two countries in the B2B format discussed prospects for the further development of Uzbek-Swiss trade and economic cooperation, including an exchange of views on enhancing partnerships between enterprises of Uzbekistan and Switzerland. About 100 business entities of our country took part in it.

Currently 87 companies with investors from Switzerland, including 56 joint ventures and 31 companies with 100% foreign capital, are operating in Uzbekistan. Representative offices of 31 Swiss companies are accredited, the scope of which covers the pharmaceutical, engineering, chemical and food industries, as well as travel services.

In 2018, the turnover made up US$169.63 million. Export basis: services (56.5%), paper pulp (31.4%), ferrous metals (6.2%), electrical equipment (3.7%), cement (1.4%), etc.

Import: pharmaceutical products (26.7%), mechanical (28.0%) and electrical (6.3%) equipment, services (11.6%), food products (5.7%), building materials (8, 2%), optical instruments and apparatus (4.6%), chemical products (2.3%), plastic (1.8%), vehicles (1.5%), etc.