Uzbekistan intends to attract FDI worth more than $5B
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 15
By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:
Uzbekistan intends to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) of $5.8 billion, Uzbek media reported, following the results of a video-conference held under the chairmanship of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, dedicated to attracting FDI to Uzbek economy.
In accordance with the decree of July 19, 2018, a list of 849 projects with a total value of $64 billion has been drawn up, which calls for FDI.
The president of Uzbekistan has appointed the State Committee on Investments and Sectoral Departments, as well as the prime minister, his deputies, ministers, chairmen of committees and presidential advisers, personally responsible for implementation of the projects, which are planned for 2018.
The Uzbek PM, along with the overall management of all investment projects' implementation, coordinates the attraction of FDI to 144 projects, while the first deputy PM coordinates 18 projects.
At the conference, attention was paid to the results of official visits abroad made by the heads of regional administrations.
Most delegations did not have a targeted program, foreigners did not get specific information on the economic potential of the regions and individual agreements remained on paper.
For example, a delegation from the Namangan region, which visited Belgium in March 2018, signed an agreement on a project for the organization of an animal husbandry complex in the Naryn district for 200 cattle, worth $3 million. However, after 5 months, no work on the implementation of the agreement has not yet been started.
Most of the delegations care about the number of contracts in the course of official trips. As a result of this trend, agreements are not aimed at a concrete result, instead, they have an abstract, mostly cultural and humanitarian character.
The State Committee for Investments and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was instructed to develop and ensure strict control over the implementation of the "road maps" and sector schedules for agreements reached during official visits.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
