Uzbekistan is a "reliable and predictable partner for the global business community," declared President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his address at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.
"Ten years ago, we embarked on building a 'New Uzbekistan,' anchoring our strategy on openness, inclusivity, and pragmatism. Over this decade, we have laid a solid foundation for long-term growth by creating a favorable business environment, a resilient industrial base, and a modernized infrastructure," he noted.
Over the past 10 years, the country's economy has nearly tripled, expanding from $50 billion to $147 billion, with growth projected to exceed 8% this year (up from 7.7% last year). Furthermore, Uzbekistan has attracted over $150 billion in foreign direct investment, while its export of goods and services has grown nearly threefold.
"Even now, amidst global instability, Uzbekistan continues to demonstrate steady growth momentum. Our economy is becoming more diversified, our domestic market is expanding, and demand is rising for advanced technologies, infrastructure, and high-quality jobs," the President said.
He highlighted Uzbekistan’s young, active, and rapidly expanding population as one of its core competitive advantages. However, he cautioned that demographic growth alone does not guarantee success. "We must transform this demographic potential into a powerful intellectual asset—turning it into expertise, productivity, and the capacity to innovate high-value-added products and technologies."
Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that from the very beginning of the reforms, the government has strived to "blend market efficiency with social responsibility. This balance lies at the core of the Uzbek model of economic development."
"Growth must be more than just fast. It must be sustainable, inclusive, and oriented toward raising people's quality of life," he emphasized.
"Our primary benchmark is a high quality of life, human dignity, and unlocking the potential of every individual," the President continued.
According to him, the "Uzbekistan-2030" Development Strategy serves this exact purpose: "By 2030, we intend to elevate public income to an upper-middle-class level, transition all economic sectors toward a model of technological and innovative growth, and expand the size of our economy by another 1.5 times, pushing it past $240 billion."
Uzbekistan is systematically establishing all the necessary conditions for global investments, the President added. He called on the investors attending the forum to build new industrial supply chains with high added value.
"Our priority is the deep localization of expertise, manufacturing, and research and development (R&D), alongside the expansion of modern engineering and new export pathways. This is particularly vital in sectors shaping today’s new economy: industrial processing, agritech, biochemistry, robotics, digital solutions, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure projects," the head of state declared.
Uzbekistan sees immense potential for collaboration in projects implemented through public-private partnerships (PPPs) across energy, aviation, education, geology, and numerous other fields.
Partners can capitalize not only on the domestic market but also on direct access to neighboring countries and regions, he noted.
The President shared that with the aim of developing the capital market and building a resilient, world-class financial and investment platform, work has begun on establishing the Tashkent International Financial Center. He concluded by inviting all attendees to the upcoming Tashkent International Investment Forum.
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