Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 3 February 2021, the 25th meeting of the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC) opened by videoconference.

The event was organized by the Ministry of International Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as diplomatic missions of the two countries. The participants were the heads of ministries and departments of the two countries, representatives of international financial institutions and development partners, as well as large British private sector companies.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade SArdor Umurzakov made a welcoming speech to the participants of the event. Also, speeches were made by Deputy Minister for International Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Greg Hands, Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan B. Abidov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Uzbekistan Tim Torlot and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Great Britain S.Rustamov.

During their speeches, the speakers emphasized that the meeting of the Council opened a new page in the development of Uzbek-British business relations, as evidenced by the growing interest of UK companies in the rapidly changing market of Uzbekistan. 

The event gathered the largest number of participants in the entire history of UBTIC: more than 700 participants representing such large companies as British Petroleum, Energy Industries Council, Rio Tinto, Worley Parsons, Petrofac, Cambridge Education Partnership, Mott MacDonald, TheCityUK, Sturgeon Capital.

Also, during the event, a plenary session was held on the topic "Investment Attractiveness of Uzbekistan", during which the current trends in the development of the investment climate and business environment in Uzbekistan, as well as the advantages of doing business in the Republic, formed as a result of successive socio-economic reforms were comprehensively considered held under the leadership of the Head of State.

The British side gave a high assessment to the dynamics and effectiveness of systemic reforms in various sectors of the economy, as well as voiced their readiness to further expand economic ties with Uzbekistan, as one of the key partners of Great Britain in Central Asia.

The practical aspects of cooperation were discussed in detail during thematic sessions on renewable energy and education with the participation of representatives of ministries, departments of the two countries and heads of a number of private British companies.

At the end of the first day of the event, a number of bilateral documents were signed on cooperation between universities of the two countries, including under double degree programs, in particular with the British universities of Portsmouth, Bangor, Strathclyde, and Cambridge.

The meeting will continue on 4 February - the program includes speeches by the Deputy Minister for International Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Lord Harry Grimstone, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Economic Development, Good Governance and International Cooperation Suma Chakrabarti, British Trade Commissioner for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Judith Slater, as well as a plenary session to discuss the implementation of the privatization program in Uzbekistan along with bilateral negotiations and thematic sessions on health and finance with the participation of government and business circles of the two countries.