Uzbekistan intends to diversify the sources of its foreign direct investment rather than concentrate on a single region or country, the Central Bank Governor Timur Ishmetov said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Asked about China's outsized role in driving investment into Uzbekistan, Ishmetov described China as a major trade and investment partner, citing the countries' geographic proximity and long history of cooperation.
"But we are diversifying our sources. Right now we have very good relations, and trade and investment are growing with both Europe and the United States — we are constantly diversifying our ties," the central bank governor said.
Ishmetov stressed that Uzbekistan has no intention of choosing between individual partners.
"Our goal is to keep diversifying, to open up new markets, and to maintain good relations with a large number of countries in both trade and investment. We have no preference that would require us to concentrate on any one region or country," he said.
Asked by the Financial Times whether Uzbekistan could become a regional investment hub for Central Asia, Ishmetov suggested looking at the picture more broadly — at the region as a whole.
"It was precisely that first step — improving relations with our neighbors — that gave a powerful boost to economic growth, both in Uzbekistan and across the region. We now have very good relations with all our neighbors, and I see this as a win-win situation," Ishmetov said.
The central bank governor argued that countries in the region stand to gain more by building a larger, unified market together rather than competing with one another for the title of investment hub — an approach he said would likely be more appealing to international investors.
"Rather than looking at each country individually and comparing which one is better, we're all better off if investors see the region as a whole. Right now we have more than 80 million people here; in a few years it will be 100 million, and at some point this region will become a $1 trillion economy," the central bank governor said.
To get there, he added, countries in the region need to coordinate their economic policies more closely and "create a kind of open market among neighbors."
Stay up to date with all the latest news:
