The President of Uzbekistan spoke in favor of increasing multifaceted Uzbek-French business cooperation

In continuation of the program of stay in the city of Paris, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with representatives of leading business circles of France, the press service of the head of our state reports.

The leader of our country has already met with French business during official visits to this country in 2018 and 2022, as well as the summit in Samarkand in 2023.

The current forum was a continuation of this open and constructive dialogue. A distinctive feature was the participation of heads and representatives of private sector companies of Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by the Minister Delegate of France for Foreign Trade and Affairs of French Citizens Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin, Director General of the French Development Agency Rémi Riou, the head of MEDEF International – Chairman of the Board of Orano Mining Claude Imovin, as well as over 60 heads and representatives of leading companies, investment and banking and financial institutions of the two countries.

French business was represented by such companies as SUEZ, Veolia, Total, EDF, Voltalia, Orano, Meridiam, Saint-Gobain, Imerys, Natixis, Société Générale, BPI France, Airbus, MND, Eiffage, Schneider Electric, Total Energies, Alstom, Technip Energies, Egis, ADP Group, Ellipse Projects, Assystem, ATR and others.

In his speech, the head of our state highly appreciated the fruitful negotiations with the President of France Emmanuel Macron, during which special attention was paid to supporting business initiatives and implementing joint cooperation projects.

The main result of the meeting was the adoption of a historic decision to bring Uzbek-French relations to the level of strategic partnership.

The role of leading companies of the two countries was noted as locomotives in expanding multifaceted cooperation.

Gratitude was expressed to representatives of the French business community for supporting the strategy of irreversible economic reforms in New Uzbekistan.

A high assessment was given to the fruitful results of the visit of the heads of large companies that are part of MEDEF to the city of Tashkent in January of this year.

The implementation of a number of joint projects with French companies in strategic sectors of the economy of our country was noted with satisfaction.

Interest was expressed in actively attracting French investments and introducing advanced technologies, applying design solutions, the vast accumulated experience and knowledge of enterprises of this country.

The President of Uzbekistan spoke in favor of further expanding trade and economic ties with France.

This is intended to be facilitated by the Program of Innovative and Industrial Cooperation until 2027 with French Companies, which includes specific areas and projects worth 6.5 billion euros.

It is envisaged that within the framework of its implementation, effective instruments of financial support for business initiatives will be widely introduced with the active involvement of leading banks and financial organizations of France.

The head of our state outlined a number of promising areas for the further development of Uzbek-French business cooperation, such as the development of promising deposits and deep processing of critical mineral resources, the creation of modern production sites in the construction materials sector, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the electrical industry, and agriculture.

The expansion of generating capacities in the energy sector and energy storage systems, the modernization of water management, utilities, tourism, and transport infrastructure in the regions of Uzbekistan have great potential for the development of cooperation.

– In order to support and accelerate projects involving companies from the two countries, I propose establishing a permanent Uzbek-French Investment Council. On our part, it will be headed by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. We can hold the first meeting in June as part of the Tashkent International Investment Forum. I invite all of you to take an active part in the upcoming event as full members of the council being created, – the head of state noted.

In turn, representatives of French business voiced their specific proposals and plans to expand the partnership.

Having wished success to the representatives of business circles, the head of our state instructed the heads of the relevant ministries and departments to ensure control over the implementation of the agreements reached, based on the “road maps” approved by the Government of Uzbekistan.