On May 3, the IV meeting of the Uzbek-Saudi intergovernmental commission was held in Riyadh chaired by the Deputy PM/Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov and Minister of Investments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khalid al-Falih, the press service of the Uzbek Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade reported.
The parties pointed to the significant untapped potential of bilateral investment cooperation in energy, chemical industry, agriculture, production of building materials, tourism, hotel business, transport and logistics sectors.
Particular attention was paid to the development of partnerships in the financial sector, in the context of which the sides touched on the progress achieved in cooperation with the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) - since the beginning of this year, the Fund has financed a total of 10 projects worth nearly US$ 300 million.
During the meeting, the creation of an Economic Support Fund in Uzbekistan with the support of the Islamic Development Bank was announced, whose task will be to support SMEs, as well as reduce poverty and increase employment and create new jobs through the implementation of investment projects in various sectors of the economy.
Also during the event, the parties reviewed cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere: interaction with leading Saudi medical companies to modernize the national health system and create medical clusters in Uzbekistan, including medical and diagnostic, educational and research components, facilitating the development of tourism infrastructure and increase of mutual tourist flows, the establishment of cooperation between the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan and the Center for Islamic Studies named after King Faisal, and a number of other issues.
Following the meeting, a number of bilateral accords were signed in the field of energy, agriculture and standardization, as well as a final protocol reflecting the main areas of development of multifaceted Uzbek-Saudi cooperation in the medium and long term.
