Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade holds talks with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 25 February, the leadership of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan held a meeting with the delegation of the United States Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs led by David Mil, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.

During the meeting, the foreign side was familiarized with the conditions, created favorable business climate in the country, in particular, about lifting all restrictions on repatriating profits and introducing free conversion of the national currency. One of the most important steps to introduce market mechanisms in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan is to create opportunities for the privatization of land and the provision of rights for foreign citizens to apply for a residence permit in the country.

Uzbekistan vividly declares itself in the international space, as evidenced by the receipt of sovereign credit risk rating and the successful placement of Eurobonds on the London Stock Exchange. Recognizing the results of systemic transformations, the OECD raised the credit rating of Uzbekistan to the 5th category.

Major companies with US capital, such as John Deere, Honeywell, General Electric, Hilton, Caterpillar and many others, have chosen Uzbekistan as a reliable business partner creating favorable conditions for the implementation of joint investment projects.

It was noted that the priority area for the strategic partnership between Washington and Tashkent is the investment sphere, as well as the development of a financial cooperation mechanism, oriented towards supporting small and medium-sized business projects of the two countries.

Mr. David Mil, in turn, stressed that he highly appreciates the desire of Uzbekistan to develop commercial ties with representatives of the US business community and the opportunity to concentrate on efforts to support the private sector. It is planned to adopt new legislation by OPIC, (Private Foreign Investment Corporation), whose goal is to assist American business in investing in new and developing markets by providing loans and guarantees.

The sides exchanged views on the next steps for Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization, and on the visit the day before of the Deputy Director of the World Trade Organization Allan Wolf. The leadership of the Ministry emphasized that the process of joining the WTO is a top priority for both the department and the country in order to implement socio-economic transformations and Uzbekistan’s accession to the world market as a full participant in the international trading arena.

The prospects for ending the boycott of the country’s textile production by the Cotton Campaign were also discussed. The large-scale measures taken by Uzbekistan in order to stabilize the situation and comply with all accepted international standards and protect civil society, eradicate the facts of forced labor were voiced.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their readiness for a detailed and extensive discussion of the issues identified in the framework of the upcoming annual Uzbek-US bilateral political consultations.