Uzbekistan and Japan discuss development of trade and economic relations

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- An Uzbek-Japanese business forum was held in Tashkent on 31 July, within the framework of the visit of the Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Sekiyama, chairman of the Silk Road Japan-Uzbekistan Working Group on Foreign Trade, Investments and Infrastructure, an advisor to the Marubeni corporation.

The event was organized by the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Investments.

Representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, foreign trade, innovation development, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Tashkent city administration and other involved agencies and organizations, as well as the Japanese Embassy in Uzbekistan, took part in the business forum, the press service of the State Property Committee said.

Over 30 people became members of the Japanese delegation from representatives of such world famous companies as Marubeni Corporation, Shimizu Corporation, Japan Tobacco, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Sakai Heavy Industries, as well as representatives of the lower house of the Japanese Parliament.

The program of the event was devoted to the discussion of promising projects of trade and investment cooperation in the fields of fuel and energy complex, development of green technologies, and public health.

Manabu Shimoyashiro, Director General of the JETRO Representative Office (Japan Foreign Trade Organization) in the Republic of Uzbekistan, opened the work of the Uzbek-Japanese forum.

It was noted that since 2000, JETRO has been actively working on the territory of Uzbekistan in order to expand cooperation and exchange of advanced technologies between the leading enterprises of Japan and Uzbekistan, facilitates attraction of direct investments of Japanese companies to economy of the country, organizes measures to improve the skills of specialists.

Laziz Kudratov, first deputy chairman of the State Committee for Investments, greeted the participants of the forum from the Uzbek side.

“The task of the State Committee for Investments is to create the most comfortable conditions for doing business in Uzbekistan,” Laziz Kudratov said in his welcome speech. This includes: informing about the economic situation in the country, providing access to the most suitable sites and free economic zones, facilitating the establishment of a dialogue of contacts, supporting at all stages of the implementation of the business project, keeping up-to-date current reporting. We will be happy to see more Japanese companies on our market.”

Currently, there are 10 enterprises with participation of Japanese investments in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including one with 100 Japanese capital, representatives of 15 companies and companies of Japan are accredited. The main areas of their activities: oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical industries, the production of power equipment, machine-building and engineering products, the provision of transport and logistics services, trade operations, tourism and others.

At the business forum, such innovative projects as "Globalization and the new standards of telepathology - the Virtual Silk Route of Telemedicine Uzbekistan - Japan" were discussed. This presentation was made by Yoshiyuki Osamura, Director of the Department of Telepathology at the Hospital of the Japanese Steel Corporation, Professor of the Private International University of Japan.

The actual problem of large and small cities of Uzbekistan is maintaining the proper state and development of highways and highways. Kodji Tanaka, adviser to the commercial technology department of Sakai Heavy Industries, spoke about Japanese methods of improving the road infrastructure in Uzbekistan as part of a prepared presentation of Japanese companies’ projects.

Ryuji Miura, representative of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, presented a project of potential cooperation in the fuel and energy sector within the framework of the presentation "Opportunities for the introduction of technologies for medium and small-volume gas turbines into the development of the Republic of Uzbekistan."

The issues of tourism development were also discussed in order to popularize the tourist destinations offered by Japan to the people of Uzbekistan, the experience of building medical institutions abroad from Japanese developers and the introduction of the experience of Japan’s sports medicine in improving the system of public health and physical training of Uzbek athletes.

At the end of the Uzbek-Japanese business forum, the sides exchanged views and reached an agreement on the development of cooperation between the countries.

The visit program of the Japanese delegation from 27 July to 2 August also plans to visit industrial facilities and medical institutions in the Samarkand region, as well as familiarize with the tourist infrastructure of the legendary city of Samarkand.