The leaders of Uzbekistan and France took part in a joint business forum

As part of the business program of the official visit of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron to the Republic of Uzbekistan, a joint business forum was held in the city of Samarkand. The heads of two states took part in its work, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has already met with leading representatives of the French business community during his official visit to this country in November 2022, as a result of which specific agreements were reached on expanding trade, economic and investment partnerships. The current forum is a continuation of an open and constructive dialogue.

The French side was represented by the Minister-Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Citizens Abroad Olivier Bescht, the Minister-Delegate for Industry under the Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure, the General Director of the business association MEDEF International Claude Imovin, Director General of the French Development Agency Rémy Rioux.

In addition, the event was attended by heads of large companies and banks – EDF, Voltalia, Total Energies, Orano, Eiffage, Veolia, SUEZ, Lactalis, Semai, Semmaris, Alstom, Airbus Helicopters, ATR, Vicat, Mobilitas, Boehringer Ingelheim, Thales, Aramine, Meridiame, Societe Generale, Natixis and others.

Opening the meeting in ancient Samarkand, the head of our state warmly greeted President Emmanuel Macron and representatives of the French business elite.

It was noted with satisfaction that thanks to active contacts at the highest level, there is a positive dynamics in the development of trade, economic and investment interaction.

Since the beginning of the year, the volume of mutual trade has tripled, and the number of joint ventures has quadrupled in recent years.

It was emphasized that further strengthening of direct trade ties and industrial cooperation fully meets the long-term interests of both countries.

“Today, my respected colleague and I held very fruitful negotiations. I would like to especially note that a new era of our cooperation is beginning. In the future, we intend to raise our relations to the level of strategic partnership”, – said the President of Uzbekistan.

In his speech, the head of our state especially noted that the leaders of the two countries agreed to provide full support to the issues of significantly expanding the volume of mutual trade and intensifying the investment activities of French companies.

This will be facilitated by the introduction of new mechanisms for financing joint projects, the creation of more favorable conditions for business and all possible assistance in the implementation of business initiatives.

Cooperation has already achieved great progress in the energy, mining, water supply, transport, agriculture, banking and financial sectors and others.

Expressed readiness to create new effective platforms to expand productive and open dialogue
with business circles in France.

In this context, the leader of our country welcomed the agreements within the forum on the creation of a joint Uzbek-French chamber of commerce. In addition, plans to open an office of the Business France agency in Tashkent received support.

Interest was expressed in continuing support for the reform program in Uzbekistan from the government, as well as leading companies and financial institutions in France.

“I can say for sure that our reforms have become irreversible. Our priority goal is to build a democratic state with strong civil society institutions and modern infrastructure
and powerful industry”, – the head of state noted.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev identified four priority areas and put forward a number of initiatives to expand the Uzbek-French partnership.

They expressed readiness to develop strategic cooperation in such an important area as “green” energy, where the implementation of large projects has already begun with the companies EDF, Voltalia and Total Energies.

Another important area of cooperation is the deep processing of strategic raw materials and the production of industrial products based on advanced technologies. It was noted that in this direction there are already plans to expand partnership with Orano companies.

The efficient use of water resources and the creation of modern infrastructure are identified as an important priority. It is indicated that a lot of work is being done with the companies SUEZ, Eiffage and Veolia to modernize the country’s water supply systems and heating networks.

Another important area that receives great attention is increasing competitiveness in agriculture and ensuring food security.

In this regard, support was expressed for active interaction with the French side on the construction of modern agrological complexes in the regions of our country.

The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of the business forum as a platform for intensive and constructive dialogue between businessmen of the two countries and identifying new points of growth.

“Addressing our French partners, I want to emphasize that our doors to work in New Uzbekistan are always open, and we are ready to implement any promising joint projects”, – the head of our state said in conclusion.

French President Emmanuel Macron also addressed the business forum participants with a welcoming speech. He expressed full support for the course of reforms pursued by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and noted the great opportunities for bilateral investment cooperation that have opened up thanks to it. He called for more active use of the solid potential of mutually beneficial partnership, expressing confidence that the economies and people of both countries will benefit from this.

As a result of the business forum, a substantial package of documents was signed on agreements in the field of energy, metallurgy, water supply, agriculture, transport and other important areas.