Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the meeting of the Foreign Investors Council as part of the Tashkent Investment Forum:

"Yesterday, at the International Investment Forum, we discussed in detail the development of our economy. Today, we will consult with you on the exchange of experience, the implementation of your specific projects, new initiatives and proposals".

"Our friendly communication in this format is distinguished by practical results and makes an invaluable contribution to the implementation of new projects."

“The previous meetings of the Investors Council are already bearing fruit. Uzbekistan has switched to a new format of work with international financial organizations - a system of cooperation aimed at a specific result.”

“Last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested a record amount in Uzbekistan - about $ 1 billion, as a result of which the country became the bank's largest partner in the region”.

“The cooperation between international financial organizations and the private sector has increased, direct investments have been made in a number of enterprises. The annual volume of joint projects of private companies and banks surpassed $1 billion.”

“The companies in the Investor Council launched new projects in green energy, waste processing, electricity storage, and green hydrogen production.”

“The companies such as Acwa Power, Masdar, Linde, Shanghai Environment, and Total Energies have invested more than $8 billion in the country's economy. DataVolt launched the largest green data center project in the region, and Veon launched a mobile super app based on artificial intelligence.”

"There are many more such examples. I consider this a clear manifestation of the high level of trust foreign investors have in our reforms and openness policy".

“The International Finance Corporation, Ernst & Young, Dentons, Knauf, and TBC, which are members of the Investor Council, have made a number of proposals to bring national legislation into line with international standards. These initiatives and ideas are reflected in more than 10 laws, decrees and resolutions of Uzbekistan.”

“In general, the investors in Uzbekistan have become more active; over the past two years, 5,500 new foreign-invested enterprises have been set up, bringing in their total number to 16 thousand.”

“We prepared for today’s meeting in a completely different way. We communicated with each foreign enterprise and selected more than 40 of the initiatives received. Investors made proposals, in particular, on ensuring the sustainability of tax legislation, increasing the number of laws of direct action, and the share of the private sector in infrastructure”.

“Of course, we will definitely take them into account and work seriously on each with the members of the council. We announced that the basic tax rates for business will not change until 2028. This year, we launched public-private partnership projects worth almost $4.5 billion in the areas of roads, transport, energy, water supply and irrigation. Regulatory and legal documents are being developed on the transition to international financial reporting standards and the implementation of environmental, social and corporate governance”.

“Many apps for connection to the power grid have been received. In this regard, of course, we need to use the most advanced foreign experience. I propose creating a separate working group under our council and developing specific mechanisms”.

“In addition, based on the proposals received, additional working groups will be created to improve the legislation on collateral, train professional personnel for foreign companies, improve corporate governance in local companies and tax administration.”

“Over the past year, the work of the council has sharply intensified. At the same time, the secretariat of the council works directly not only with the Ministry of Investments, but also with other ministries and departments, international organizations and investors. “It would be advisable to increase the independence of the secretariat and reorganize it into a separate legal entity. I would like to know your opinion on this”.

"I am very pleased with our fruitful dialogue today. Frankly, I expected such bold and practical speeches. Every proposal and opinion will be considered in detail. Our government will adopt a separate "road map".

"We are building a New Uzbekistan - a country open to investors, free, stable and reliable. We will consistently continue the irreversible reforms we have started. We call on you not only to invest in our country, but also to become real participants in the history of our success, an integral part of the great future that we are creating," Shavkat Mirziyoyev concluded.