18.01.2024

On January 18, Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a videoconference on investment, export and industrial priorities for 2024.

The "Uzbekistan-2030" strategy sets the goal of increasing the country's gross domestic product to US$160 billion and per capita income to US$4,000. This cannot be achieved at the expense of the domestic market alone, but also by actively attracting foreign investment and increasing exports.

At the beginning of the meeting, which was held in a critical spirit, the situation and the activities of those responsible in these areas were reviewed.

Over the past six years, our country has received almost 50 billion US dollars in foreign investment. Last year, GDP and industry grew by 6%.

However, exports of goods have not increased. The work on mutual recognition agreements for certificates with foreign countries has not been organized at the appropriate level. Implementation of 5 projects worth 480 million US dollars involving international financial organizations has not started. About a thousand projects in the regions worth 8 trillion Uzbek soums, whose financing issues have been fully resolved, have not yet been launched.

The Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade B. Abidov, the Director of the Agency for Technical Regulation D. Sattarov and the Director of the Investment Promotion Agency M. Mirzayev have been dismissed for shortcomings and negligence, and it has been decided to bring some other managers under disciplinary responsibility.

In general, it was decided to introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the activities of all deputy ministers and khokims in the investment complex.

At the meeting, the head of state analyzed the shortcomings in the sector on the basis of concrete examples.

For example, last year the volume of exports decreased in 2 driving industries and 4 regions compared to 2022. 50% of exports still go to 4 main markets. Alternatively, a third of goods are sold abroad as raw materials.

Uzbekistan has joined the GSP+ scheme and can import 6,200 types of goods duty-free to Europe, but last year only 384 types of goods were exported under this scheme. Foreign phytosanitary permits have been obtained for the export of fruit and vegetables, but this opportunity has not been fully exploited.

In order to take our economy to a new level, it is necessary to increase exports by at least 30% per year.

The President identified important tasks in this direction and announced structural changes.

In particular, the plant quarantine system, methods and approaches will be completely changed. The Agency will also be responsible for identifying potential new markets and developing export production. The Agency will train producers and exporters in the requirements of the external market and support their implementation.

In recent years, all certificates and permits required for exporting fruit, vegetables and food have been fully digitalized. However, exporters still have to go through four border agencies. It has therefore been decided to transfer all export control functions to the Customs Committee.

Many domestic companies cannot participate in global flows because they lack international certification. The level of implementation of international standards in the driving industries of the economy does not reach 35%.

Therefore, the Agency for Technical Regulation will be completely reformed and transferred to the government. Responsible persons have been instructed to implement international quality systems in enterprises, to increase the range of products with guaranteed quality and to conclude agreements with foreign partners on bilateral recognition of national certificates.

A budget of 200 million US dollars has been allocated for export credits. In addition, 800 billion Uzbek soums will be allocated this year to support exporters. However, these resources do not always generate value-added products and exports.

The export support system is therefore changing. The Export Promotion Agency will be transformed into a Trade Development Company in accordance with the requirements of the World Trade Organization. The subsidies, loans and assistance provided by the company will be based on the new assessment, with priority given to exporters entering new markets with high value-added products.

Instructions were given on the organization of reliable logistics supply chains for local products to foreign markets and the expansion of goods processing in the customs territory.

The meeting discussed the effectiveness of investments and future plans.

Over the past six years, the volume of investments attracted to our country's industry has increased sevenfold. In the last three years, US$14 billion worth of equipment has been imported.

However, industrial productivity, job creation and value added have not increased accordingly. The companies and equipment set up in some regions and industries have had no impact on exports. The responsible officials were criticized for inadequate monitoring of the effectiveness of the projects and were given instructions.

Last year, the volume of investment in the fish farming, poultry farming, jewellery, beekeeping and silk industries decreased in the cities of Samarkand and Tashkent, as well as in 12 districts and cities. In some regions, the implementation of investment projects agreed during foreign visits and international exhibitions has been slow.

The Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade has been instructed to monitor and speed up the implementation of these projects.

The need to develop private partnerships, to increase the attractiveness of foreign grants and to increase the activity and responsibility of ambassadors in this direction was stressed.

Another topic of the meeting was the growth of industrial production.

To this end, our country has established 24 special economic zones. Land in these zones is allocated in a simplified manner and tax incentives are provided. However, these opportunities are not being fully exploited. For example, 800 hectares of land with ready-made infrastructure in the zones remain unused.

Therefore, it was decided to launch a new experiment in the development of economic zones. In particular, 240 hectares of land in special industrial zones in the regions of Bukhara, Navoi and Tashkent will be outsourced to foreign companies.

It was noted that this year it will be possible to implement 309 large projects and create 40 thousand jobs in special economic zones.

The President paid special attention to the issue of localization.

The Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to adopt a programme for the development of the food industry in the regions. In particular, it sets targets for the production of 25 types of food products that are in high demand in our country and for the introduction of international standards in food companies.

Such opportunities also exist in the leather industry. For example, there is strong demand for car upholstery, sporting goods, shoes and women's handbags. On this basis, industry leaders have been instructed to set up sectoral projects in the regions.

Not only goods but also services should be localized. In the last five years in particular, large power, oil and gas and metallurgical plants have been commissioned. The demand for qualified services for the operation and repair of high-tech equipment in such complexes is growing every year.

In this context, the Cabinet of Ministers has been instructed to increase the participation of local companies in the provision of services to large companies.

- We are sure that we will achieve our goals only if each leader works with dedication, loves his country and people, conscientiously carries out the assigned tasks together with all his system, - the President said.

At the end of the meeting, investment executives, ministers and khokims presented their plans for the current year.