TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 11. Uzbekistan expects to attract additional $3 billion of foreign direct investments (FDIs) this year, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a governmental meeting, Trend reports.
To attract this volume of FDIs, those responsible were tasked to start practical work with 437 investors.
President Mirziyoyev noted that there is a need to increase the number of high-level foreign visits, as this is one of the greatest opportunities to promote new business contacts.
Over the past two years, significant agreements have been reached at high-level meetings with Saudi Arabia, France, Hungary, Singapore, Egypt, Germany, China, Italy, Qatar and other countries.
There are also positive developments in cooperation with Hungary, Pakistan, Thailand, the Czech Republic and Japan in terms of attracting investments. Last year, only $40 million of investments were attracted from these countries, and this year this figure has increased to $450 million.
However, the activities of the ambassadors in Egypt, Iran, Spain, India and Belgium have not yet yielded results.
From now on, a new system of working with investors under foreign agreements will be introduced. The position of "investment manager" will be created in the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, who will accompany each new investor and will report directly to the Minister. They will be in constant contact with foreign investors and resolve emerging issues.
Earlier this year, President Mirziyoyev said that volume of FDIs in Uzbekistan since 2017 tripled.
"As a result of the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, the removal of barriers to entry to foreign markets, the abolition of customs duties on more than 7,000 types of raw materials and goods, foreign trade turnover doubled. Along with this, tax administration has been simplified, forming attractive fiscal system in the country," he said