Tashkent Hosts Foreign Investors Council Plenary Session

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A regular plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council was held on 18 June at the International Congress Centre, chaired by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The event was attended by Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, heads of leading foreign companies, banks and financial institutions, and representatives of international organisations and bodies representing investor councils in countries across Central Asia and the Caucasus.

During the session, the head of state noted that the Council has, in recent years, strengthened its position as a key platform for practical engagement between the state and the international business community and for supporting reforms.

It was noted that since gaining the status of an independent association, the Council has brought together 85 companies from 23 sectors of the economy. Its Executive Committee includes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

According to the data presented, a practical outcome of the Council's work has been the steady improvement of the regulatory and legal framework. In particular, taking into account proposals from its members, amendments were made to the Tax Code, certain financial regulation and accounting procedures were simplified, and a number of mandatory requirements for foreign companies using international financial reporting standards were lifted.

Work is reported to be continuing on bringing national legislation closer to international practice.

A draft law "On Alternative Investment Funds" has been prepared, a programme for introducing responsible business conduct standards has been developed, and technical regulations are being harmonised with international requirements.

Uzbekistan has also begun the process of acceding to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. The next stage will be the adoption of a constitutional law on the Tashkent International Financial Centre.

More than 50 meetings have been held by the Council's working groups on issues including the development of the financial market, tax administration, energy, land regulation, corporate governance and workforce training.

Ahead of the session, 120 proposals from foreign partners were collected and grouped into seven key areas, including improving the investment climate, the tax and cadastral systems, the banking and financial sector, corporate governance, energy development, and the digital economy and artificial intelligence.

Particular attention was given to initiatives on liberalising currency regulation, introducing modern financial instruments including Islamic insurance and "green" financing mechanisms, and developing ESG approaches.

Following the session, instructions were given to prepare a unified roadmap for implementing the proposals, with specific deadlines and monitoring mechanisms.

Members of the government will report quarterly on progress in implementation.

Participants in the session confirmed their interest in further expanding cooperation and implementing joint initiatives aimed at strengthening the country's investment attractiveness and continuing reforms.