Uzbekistan plans to increase trade and investment cooperation with Great Britain

On June 7 of this year, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov received the British Deputy Secretary of State for International Trade (Minister of Export) Mike Freer. The British delegation was also attended by representatives of the London Stock Exchange and financial corporations “Standard Chartered” and “TheCityUK”.

During the meeting, the current state and prospects of deepening the Uzbek-British partnership in the field of investment, trade and industry were discussed.

The parties noted with satisfaction the positive trends in the development of mutual trade: in 2021, the volume of trade between the two countries increased by 65 percent, while exports from Uzbekistan to the UK increased 2.5 times. This was largely facilitated by Uzbekistan’s receipt of the status of the beneficiary of the Expanded Scheme of the General System of Preferences of Great Britain (“GSP Enhanced Framework”). Positive dynamics in bilateral trade continues in 2022: in the period from January to April, commodity turnover increased by 68 percent compared to the same indicator last year, while Uzbek exports to the United Kingdom increased 2.6 times.

An agreement was reached on the development of joint measures to attract British investors to create joint export-oriented industries in Uzbekistan, as well as the organization of trainings and practical seminars for Uzbek manufacturers and exporters on the effective use of preferences of the GSP Enhanced Framework system.

The prospects for intensifying investment cooperation were also discussed. It was stressed that over the past few years, the number of British enterprises operating in Uzbekistan has increased by 40 percent. The prospects for cooperation within the framework of attracting new British companies for the implementation of projects in the field of processing of agricultural products, animal husbandry, biopharmaceuticals, the textile industry, information and communication technologies and green energy were discussed.

In this context, the parties agreed to intensify work on the preparation of the 26th Uzbek-British Council on Trade and Industry (UBTIC), which will be held in October this year in Tashkent. The event will strengthen ties between the business circles of the two countries, determine new “growth points” of economic partnership and attract British investments and technologies to promising sectors of the economy of Uzbekistan.

Following the meeting, the format of further cooperation was determined within the framework of each of the considered areas of cooperation.