BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5. Uzbekistan is focused on further developing its already efficient railway system, and Spain is actively collaborating in this endeavor, General Director for International Trade and Investment of Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Business Alicia Varela told Trend in an exclusive interview.
“In the realm of bilateral relations, a Framework Agreement for Financial Cooperation between Spain and Uzbekistan was signed during the 2023 Intergovernmental Commission, which envisages finance by the Spanish FIEM fund amounting to 250 million euros. High-level negotiations have taken place to assess the possibility of using part of these funds for transport projects, leaving it to the Uzbek authorities to make a final decision,” she said.
Alicia Varela noted that Spain, at the institutional and business level, has been working intensively in Central Asia, specifically in Uzbekistan, for more than a decade. In this context, the first Joint Commission in the economic and commercial sphere was held in Tashkent from March 1 through March 3, 2023. Spain expects to hold the second edition in 2025 in Madrid.
According to her, the Joint Commission is an extraordinary instrument to promote agreements and to find areas of cooperation at the bilateral level in multiple sectors that help increase trade and investment. This is achieved through an intense agenda of meetings at the highest interministerial level. In addition, a business meeting is consistently organized at the same time, featuring representatives from both companies currently operating in Uzbekistan and those interested in developing a market entry. This is also an appropriate framework for Spanish firms to learn in detail about the country's short- and medium-term strategy for opening up and developing the country, and specifically, for analyzing national and regional projects in which Spanish companies with proven experience can participate and generate a knock-on effect for other companies wishing to enter Uzbekistan.
“If we look at Spain's import data from Uzbekistan, the fur and leather sector ranked third in 2023, which implies that there is demand for this sector in our country. In this regard, our Ministry has a wide range of instruments to boost Spain's trade and investment with other countries. Firstly, ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones (Spain's Export and Investment Agency) is our agency when it comes to organizing direct and inverse trade missions, industry days, pavilions at trade and investment fairs, and forums in all sectors. We have a wide range of possibilities to open new alliances,” the representative of the ministry said.
She emphasized that the fashion and leather sector features several internationally renowned trade fairs that take place annually in Spain, such as FUTURMODA in Alicante, which occurred on October 16, 2024, and MOMAD in Madrid, scheduled for February 2025. Uzbek companies interested in entering the Spanish market should consider participating in these events.
“Secondly, we also offer a wide range of financial instruments to support Spanish companies in their internationalization process. The Corporate Internationalization Fund (FIEM) is a public initiative managed by the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, designed to promote the presence of Spanish companies and products abroad. Through FIEM, we can facilitate exports from Spanish companies, including machinery for the industry. Additionally, we assist clients in modernizing their production systems, which will lead to an increase in exports from the client country—in this case, from Uzbekistan to other partners,” Alicia Varela noted.
The representative from the ministry emphasized that the excellent relationship and exchange of information between the economic and trade offices of both countries is also of paramount importance. On the multilateral arena, Spain is an active member and contributor to several multilateral institutions that participate in the development of the financing of infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“Spain welcomes the Uzbekistan´s bid for decarbonization and modernization of its energy sector: reaching 40 percent renewables in the energy mix by 2030 is a great challenge, and Spain is ready to support Uzbekistan with its great institutional and corporate expertise in the field of renewable energies. Spanish companies are leading the development of renewable energies in all areas (wind, solar, hydroelectric). An example of the interest of Spanish companies in this sector in Uzbekistan is the project for the construction of a 100 MW wind power plant, but other projects are in discussion nowadays. We plan to increase trade promotion activity in sectors with the greatest growth potential, including agribusiness, water management, energy, mining, tile and construction materials, and medical services,” she added.