Uzbek - UAE Business Forum was held at the International Hotel in Tashkent on Wednesday, organized by the Uzbekistan Committee for Investments. The UAE delegation was led by Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the United Arab Emirates.
The Uzbekistan delegation was represented by the officials of the Ministries of foreign trade, IT development, the Agency for development of pharmaceutical Industry, UzbekEnergo, UzbekNeftegaz, UzQurilishMateriallari, UzEltehSanoat, UzbekOziqOvqatholding, UzAgroTechSanoat holding and the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of.
The 40 strong UAE delegation included the business executives of VPS Healthcare, Vision Investment Services Co, International Holdings Company PJSC and others specializing in education, health, ITs, investment, agriculture and fishing, production of building materials, the banking sector and also the members of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UAE Business Women’s Council.
Uzbek Deputy PM Sukhrob Kholmurodov, in his opening remarks at the business forum, stated that in the near future the parties plan to sign over US$ 3 billion worth of deals. “This is not the limit, but only the beginning. I hope that our business executives will manage to increase this figure significantly”.
“We can be very helpful to each other. It is the promotion of economic cooperation, particularly attracting investment and promoting trade are the two priorities for Uzbekistan. Despite the huge potential, it is not yet fully tapped. We share common interest which is to promote mutually beneficial ties,” Kholmurodov added.
A number of bilateral documents were signed following the business forum:
The National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and the Abu Dhabi Development Fund signed an agreement on construction of a shopping center and a hotel in Samarkand city. The CCI of Uzbekistan and the CCI Abu Dhabi signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation, the State Committee on Investment of Uzbekistan and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC) reached an agreement on renewable energy, and on building wind and solar power plants.
The event culminated by the signing of the Agreement between Uzbekistan and the UAE on setting up of a US$ 1 billion dollar investment fund.
The trade volume between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates in 2017 reached US$ 110.3 million (exports - 42.6 million, imports - 67.3 million). Uzbekistan’s main export items are cotton fiber, silk, agricultural products and services, while mechanical and electrical equipment, coffee, tea, furniture, vehicles, groceries, clothing and sports equipment are imported from the United Arab Emirates.
Currently, there are 92 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan established with the UAE investments, of which 36 are with 100% UAE capital.
