President of Uzbekistan chairs videoconference on investment attraction
Tashkent, The Gulf Observer: On July 11, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a videoconference on the issues of further expanding the attraction of investments.
The President of Uzbekistan noted that the Presidential Elections were held at a high level, which further united the country’s people on the path to great goals.
The next task is implementing the set goals without delay and with even greater zeal. This will be challenging in the current era of conflicts and fierce competition, when trade and investment flows are becoming more and more complicated, and there are disruptions in the movement of goods and services, in the transport and logistics system.
“In such a difficult situation, to create decent conditions for our people, we need to create hundreds of thousands of highly paid jobs and increase the production of products that can compete in the world market. This requires new technologies, modern production facilities, and qualified specialists”, the President said.
In this regard, the investment performance of industries and regions, the implementation of projects, and priority tasks for the period until the end of the year were discussed at the meeting.
In the last six months of this year, $3.6 billion of investments were disbursed in the industries. More than $50 million of direct investment was attracted to the city of Andijan, Bulakbashi, Romitan, Gallaaral, Farish, Karmana, Davlatabad, Chust, Kattakurgan, and Syrdarya districts. Due to this, 50,000 new jobs and sources of income for an additional 1 trillion UZS were created in these areas.
But in some regions and industries, this indicator is low. The investment climate could be in a better state. At the meeting, the hokims of these districts and cities, deputy ministers, and responsible persons of state enterprises were relieved of their positions, and some received a reprimand.
The President set additional tasks to accelerate 1.5 thousand investment projects and develop more than $12 billion in foreign investment.
The Head of state outlined a clear algorithm for attracting investments and implementing projects in every industry and region.
In particular, within the framework of the state investment program, project work will be organized for the early commissioning of 272 large facilities worth $11.5 billion. For example, 29 projects can be launched earlier by accelerating construction, and 49 by assisting in the delivery and installation of equipment. Due to this, $700 million of investments will be disbursed 2-3 months earlier.
In this regard, instructions were given to the Minister of Transport and the ambassadors of Uzbekistan abroad. In addition to the 1.2 trillion UZS provided for infrastructure projects in the regions, another $100 million will be allocated.
It is necessary to master $4.4 billion of foreign direct investment within 230 industrial projects and another $4.6 billion within 1.2 thousand projects in the regions. Projects will be divided into 3 categories and considered individually. Thus, large projects will be supervised by the deputy hokim of the region for investments, medium projects – by the hokim of the district, and small ones by the deputy hokim of the district for investments. Responsible persons will be assigned to each region to implement this system and effectively resolve issues on the spot.
The results of investment partnerships with foreign countries were also considered at the meeting. Over the past two years, many agreements have been reached with Saudi Arabia, France, Hungary, Singapore, Egypt, Germany, China, Italy, Qatar, and other countries due to high-level meetings.
Positive shifts were noted in cooperation with Hungary, Pakistan, Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Japan, and attracting investments from these countries this year increased by $450 million.
A new work system with investors will be introduced within the framework of agreements with foreign partners. Thus, the position of an investment manager will be introduced in the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, who will report directly to the minister. Managers will maintain constant contact with foreign investors and resolve their issues. As noted at the meeting, working based on this system this year can attract an additional $3 billion in investments.
It was noted that the investment projects formed in most regions, districts, and cities do not correspond to their real possibilities. In particular, over the past two months, opportunities for 2,000 promising projects worth $6.5 billion have been found in 60 areas with low industrial development. This means an average of $110 million in investment and hundreds of jobs in a district.
Considering this, the task was set with consulting companies to form new projects on the principle of “research – development – implementation”. To present them to foreign investors, a regional investment forum will be held in each region before the end of the year.
The Government Commission has also prepared 97 large-scale industrial projects that will greatly boost the economy. Within their framework, it will be possible to master $6.7 billion, produce goods worth $3 billion, and create more than 27,000 jobs.
The Government Commission was instructed to launch these projects immediately and use foreign loans effectively.
Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, and hokims provided information on the issues discussed at the meeting.
