UAE companies are interested in participating in public-private partnership projects in Uzbekistan

The Embassy of our country and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan organized a working visit to the United Arab Emirates for a delegation consisting of representatives of a number of ministries and departments of our country, the correspondent of ‘‘Dunyo’’ news agency reports.

This visit was organized for the purpose of holding ‘‘Road Show’’ events aimed at attracting UAE investors to privatization processes and public-private partnership projects in Uzbekistan.

During the visit, about 20 bilateral negotiations were held in large private companies of the UAE (‘‘Al Ghurair Investment’’, ‘‘RKH Investment Holdings’’, ‘‘AlNowais Investments’’, ‘‘MBS Global’’) and sovereign funds (‘‘ADQ’’, ‘‘ADFD’’, ‘‘Mubadala investment company’’).

The meetings included presentations of 63 projects worth more than $30 billion and 21 objects proposed for privatization in priority sectors on the basis of public-private partnership.

Practical aspects of large-scale reforms aimed at improving the investment environment in Uzbekistan, reducing the tax burden, easing customs duties and protecting investors’ rights through legislation were noted.

Also, in order to accelerate the status of current projects, meetings were held with the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE, the leadership of the Ministry of Investment, and the heads of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Following the visit, about 10 UAE companies expressed interest in the privatization program and participation in public-private partnership projects and agreed to continue future negotiations.