President Shavkat Mirziyoyev issued a decree on June 19 creating a new mechanism of legal protection and representation of interests and rights of business entities through fundamental review of the main tasks and activities of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI).
The CCI will focus on protecting the rights of business entities, improving the business environment and investment climate, assistance to entrepreneurship, interacting with government bodies, training entrepreneurs and personnel, foreign economic activities and attracting investment.
Currently, there are more than 525,000 business entities in Uzbekistan. More than 56% of the country's GDP is produced by small and medium enterprises, which provide employment for more than 78% of the working-age population.
The decree has assigned the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the body responsible for issuance of conclusions on draft legal acts with a view to assessing their impact on entrepreneurial activity.
It is planned to hold regular meetings of the President with entrepreneurs to discuss pressing issues, business ideas and projects, organizing annual Economic Forums to promote dialogue between the business community, the scientific community, government and the public.
On the same day, the President signed a decree on measures to organize the activities of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which provides for a fundamental improvement of its organizational and managerial structure.
It is foreseen to open centers for assistance to entrepreneurship in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, provinces and the city of Tashkent with branches in every city and district, and an International Commercial Arbitration Court will be established within the Chamber.
