Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 7-8 November 2020, the Government Commission for the Development of Export and Investment under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov, with the involvement of the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, commercial banks, authorities local authorities and diplomatic missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad have carried out work to study the implementation of instructions given during the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Khorezm region in March 2020 and the activities planned during the visit of the Government Commission to the region in August of this year, aimed at stimulating integrated social and economic development and providing targeted support to entrepreneurs and exporters of the region.

It was found that thanks to effective measures taken by the relevant ministries, departments and local authorities, problematic issues of 86 industrial enterprises were resolved, which for one reason or another did not function, reduced production and export volumes or did not work at full capacity.

The efficiency of work on providing support in the implementation of investment projects within the framework of the regional investment program was analyzed - as of 1 November 2020, 1,105 investment projects worth 2.5 trillion soums were implemented, due to which more than 5 thousand jobs were created. The project proposals developed by the investment company "Khorezm Invest Project", established by the commercial banks "Uzpromstroybank", "Uzmilliybank" and "Asakabank", were studied, and instructions were given to accelerate the practical implementation of these projects.

The progress in the implementation of the instruction on the creation of 18 scientific and industrial clusters in the region was studied, the launch of which will ensure the production of export-oriented products in the amount of 68.8 million dollars per year, increase the volume of budget revenues by 83.1 billion soums per year, and create 1,250 new jobs - the progress achieved was noted and practical measures were identified to ensure the timely commissioning of these clusters.

Additional instructions were given to increase the rate of localization, in particular, by accelerating the implementation of 91 investment projects planned for implementation, the launch of which will increase the production of import-substituting products by 1.8 trillion soums.

The measures taken to improve the efficiency of the free economic zone "Khazorasp" and 6 small industrial zones operating in the region were considered separately. It was noted that at the moment 56 projects worth 370 billion soums have been launched in these zones, and in the period 2020-2021, it is planned to commission a total of 93 projects worth 3.3 trillion soums. Instructions were given on the timely adoption of measures to provide these zones with the necessary engineering infrastructure and communications.

During the meeting, measures were discussed to form a targeted program of socio-economic development of Khorezm region in 2021 with an emphasis on increasing the share of industry in the gross regional product, creating new jobs, and increasing export potential.

Also, in the course of work in the format of a video conference with the participation of the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, diplomatic missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad, commercial banks, as well as executive authorities of the regions, the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the city of Tashkent, the current state of export activities were considered and priority tasks were discussed to ensure accelerated growth of exports in order to achieve maximum indicators for the current year.

It was emphasized that in order to accomplish the task, responsible leaders need to focus their efforts to mobilize available resources and identify additional opportunities to enhance export activities, as well as pay special attention to direct work with exporters on a visit to enterprises in order to promptly respond to incoming requests and effectively resolve existing problems.

During the videoconference, reports were presented on the current export performance and systemic problems in the context of industries and regions, as well as specific proposals for their elimination.

Responsible managers were instructed to develop plans for priority measures to increase export volumes, indicating specific exporting enterprises, assortment and volumes of manufactured and shipped export-oriented products, as well as measures to address identified issues.

The need to take specific practical measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of exporting enterprises with gas and electricity, to provide effective assistance in the accelerated return of previously paid amounts of value added tax, including through the organization of special trainings to explain to entrepreneurs the principle of this mechanism, was emphasized.

Separate instructions were given to the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the heads of the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan abroad, which will have to intensify work to resolve the issues of exporters, meaning assistance in the return of receivables under current export contracts and attracting new foreign customers through a thorough analysis of the current situation in foreign markets ...

Control over the quality and timely execution of orders on an ongoing basis is entrusted to the General Prosecutor’s Office.