The third plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held on June 11th at the International Congress Center, as reported by the president’s press service. Source
The event, chaired by the Uzbek president, was attended by Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and executives from leading companies and banks including Masdar, Indorama, ACWA Power, Vision Invest, DataVolt, Veon, Boeing, Air Products, SpaceX, Meta, John Deere, Franklin Templeton, Suez, EDF, Total Energies, Voltalia, Orano, Linde, Claas, Sojitz, Bomi, OTP Bank, Goldwind, Çalik, Çengiz, Aksa, JBIС, as well as representatives from international organizations and financial institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).
The council’s primary objectives are to provide advisory support and foster open dialogue between the Uzbek government and foreign investors on key aspects of the country’s investment, industrial-technological, and innovative development, leveraging best practices and global experience.
Opening the session, the Uzbek president highlighted the successful outcomes of the recent Tashkent Investment Forum and thanked council members for their contributions to the development of New Uzbekistan. The effectiveness of previous council meetings was noted, particularly the shift to a new format of working with international financial institutions, the establishment of an efficient cooperation system, and the expansion of mutually beneficial partnerships.
The EBRD, for instance, invested a record $1 billion in Uzbekistan last year, making Uzbekistan the bank’s largest partner in the region. Collaboration between international financial organizations and the private sector has also significantly strengthened, with the annual volume of joint projects exceeding $1 billion.
Council member companies have launched new projects in areas such as green energy, waste processing, energy storage, green hydrogen production, and more. ACWA Power, Masdar, Linde, Shanghai Renewable Energy, and Total Energies, with investments exceeding $8 billion, are significantly contributing to the development of a green economy.
Prominent global companies are also actively entering Uzbekistan’s digital technology sector. DataVolt is implementing projects to create the region’s largest green data center, while Veon is developing a mobile super-app based on artificial intelligence.
“I consider this a clear demonstration of the high confidence foreign investors have in our reforms and open-door policy,” the President emphasized.
The IFC, Ernst & Young, Dentons, Knauf, and TBC, all council members, offered proposals to further improve national legislation based on international standards. Their initiatives have been incorporated into over 10 laws, decrees, and resolutions. The president announced that base tax rates for businesses will remain unchanged until 2028.
Due to improvements in the investment climate, 5,500 new enterprises with foreign capital were established in Uzbekistan over the past two years, bringing the total to 16,000. Over 40 initiatives from foreign partners were reviewed in preparation for this meeting, including proposals for ensuring the stability of tax legislation, increasing the number of self-executing laws, and expanding private sector participation in infrastructure projects.
This year, public-private partnership projects worth almost $4.5 billion have been launched in road construction, transportation, energy, water supply, irrigation, and other sectors. Regulatory documents are being developed for the transition to international financial reporting standards, as well as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards.
Based on the proposals received, additional working groups will be established to improve legislation on collateral, train professionals for foreign companies, improve corporate governance in local companies, and enhance tax administration. It was proposed to enhance the independence of the Council Secretariat and reorganize it as a separate legal entity.
Council members praised the results of the large-scale reform program in New Uzbekistan and expressed gratitude for the support of investment activities. The government was instructed to thoroughly review all initiatives and oversee their implementation, with a dedicated roadmap for each project.