Uzbek-Emirates business forum and cooperation exchange take place in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Uzbek-Emirates business forum and cooperation exchange took place in Tashkent on 3 October within the visit of the delegation of business circles of Abu Dhabi led by Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, deputy chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the UAE, the press service of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan said in a statement.

The purpose of these events is to discuss the prospects for development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries and to familiarize the business community of Abu Dhabi with the economic and investment potential of Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by representatives of the business community of Abu Dhabi engaged in health care, construction, education, information technology, insurance, banking, oil and gas, agriculture, as well as companies planning to invest in the economy of the republic.

The business forum was opened by the Chairman of the CCI of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov. In his speech, he noted that the United Arab Emirates is one of the important partners of Uzbekistan in the field of trade and investment, and one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan. Today, cooperation between our countries in many areas is developing intensively. Of course, an important part of bilateral relations is trade and economic cooperation, which is developing rapidly. Since the beginning of 2018. to date, business trips of managers of more than 60 emirates companies to Uzbekistan have taken place for bilateral negotiations with partners from Uzbekistan.

“I am convinced that the current forum will create additional opportunities for businessmen from the UAE to become more familiar with the trade and economic potential of Uzbekistan, and following the results of the bilateral meetings, agreements on the implementation of mutually beneficial projects will be reached,” said the head of the CCI of Uzbekistan.

The delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the United Arab Emirates includes more than 40 representatives of such companies as VPS Healhcare, Vision Investment Services Co, International Holdings Company PJSC and others specializing in education, health, information technology, investment, agriculture farming and fishing, production of building materials, the banking sector. Also in the delegation were members of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UAE Business Women’s Council.

The UAE delegations presented presentations demonstrating the trade and economic potential of the republic, investment opportunities in such sectors as tourism, hydrocarbon production and processing, in-depth processing, harvesting and export of agricultural and food products.

In his speech, the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, praised the positive changes in the economic life of the country, especially the improvement in the investment climate and infrastructure, the creation of free economic zones for foreign investment.

“The priority areas of cooperation are the oil industry, agriculture, tourism, investment, transport and logistics,” said the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the United Arab Emirates

It should be noted that due to the efforts of the parties in the first half of the year, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and the UAE increased by 22.1%, reaching US$82.4 million. At the same time, the growth of exports of Uzbek products to the UAE market was 16.4%, in which increase in the share of enterprises in the regions and regions of Uzbekistan.

If we talk about investment cooperation between the business circles of the two countries, it should be said that since the beginning of this year, 10 enterprises with UAE capital were registered in Uzbekistan, which is 2 times more than the same period in 2017, reaching only 91 enterprises.

The above indicators are the results of the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan to further liberalize the economy and ensure its openness. The country is carrying out comprehensive work to increase the investment attractiveness of the country, in particular, fundamentally new approaches in the area of currency regulation have been reviewed and formulated, the banking and financial system has been strengthened, the tax burden on business has been reduced, proposals have been prepared for introducing additional benefits and preferences for investors, including within the framework of the newly created free economic zones.

Following the results of the business forum, a number of bilateral documents in the areas of commercial and residential construction, renewable energy and investment cooperation was signed.