President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on November 27 this year to discuss the current state of attracting foreign investment and plans for the next year.
Over the past 10 months, Uzbekistan has attracted more than $26 billion of foreign investment, which is 1.7 times more than last year. Of this amount, about $24 billion are direct investments.
These funds allowed launching 6.3 thousand new enterprises, creating added value worth 30 trillion soums and increasing exports by $305 million. It is especially important that investments have created 163 thousand high-paying jobs.
Another $8.6 billion of investment is expected to be attracted by the end of the year.
The meeting, held in a critical spirit, comprehensively analyzed the results on attracting investments and implementation of projects in the context of regions and industries.
Thus, investment rates remain low in eight districts and cities, and some sectors are down year-on-year. The implementation of a number of projects implemented jointly with international financial institutions is progressing slowly. In particular, the development of project documents and tenders for 17 projects are delayed.
The officials presented information about the projected results by the end of the year and plans for 2025.
The President noted that it is necessary to increase investment activity of the regions and radically change approaches to work in this area. For example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, taking into account the positive changes in the country’s business environment and economic growth rates, has expressed its readiness to finance projects with the participation of the private sector.
It was emphasized that regions should effectively use such opportunities and independently attract financial resources. It is also necessary not only to increase the volume, but also to improve the quality of investments. That is, every dollar attracted should serve the development of industry, the creation of new jobs, and the growth of export potential.
The meeting instructed to once again review the volume and directions of attracting funds from international financial institutions and foreign governmental financial organizations. The task has been set to define specific projects for 2025, including those based on public-private partnership and with the participation of private investment, in terms of industries and regions.
Source: President.uz