As part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Austria, a briefing was organized at the Embassy of our country in Vienna on the topic “New Uzbekistan: New economic opportunities for cooperation”.
Khokim of Namangan region Shavkat Abdurazakov, who was in Vienna on a working visit, took part in the briefing as an honored guest and speaker. Wibke Schlömmer, Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Europe and Central Asia, also made a presentation.
The briefing was attended by representatives of leading Austrian companies such as Austrian Post, Siemens AG, AME International, Andritz Hydro, OeKB, and others.
Khokim of Namangan region presented the trade-economic, investment and tourism potential of the region. He especially noted the development of the textile industry with more than 2 thousand companies and the status as the textile center of Uzbekistan. In particular, the cooperation of textile enterprises of the region with well-known world brands such as Baldessarini, Boss, Pierre Cardin, S.Oliver, Luigi Morini, Feraud, Jake’s, Christian Berg, Fuchs & Schmitt, Cinque and others was noted. In addition, the khokim demonstrated video presentations on the economic and tourism potential of the region, investment projects being developed, and also proposed organizing an Austrian business mission to Namangan as part of the Austria Connect Central Asia event with a visit to the Flower Festival (May 23 – June 5) and organizing meetings in G2B and B2B formats. It was noted that “Austria Connect Central Asia” will be held under the motto “Uzbekistan is a rising star: new opportunities along the Great Silk Road” and is organized by the Embassy of Uzbekistan together with the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria from May 30 to June 3 in Tashkent.
Addressing the audience, Wibke Schlömmer emphasized that Uzbekistan is a reliable partner in the international arena with a diversified economy that promotes a neutral and balanced regional policy. She also noted the successful cooperation of the IFC and the World Bank with Uzbekistan in both the private and public sectors.
The IFC director elaborated on the geopolitical and geo-economic advantages of Uzbekistan in the region, outlining the strategic location of Uzbekistan, which gives the country the role of a dominant player in strengthening regional cooperation and setting foreign economic priorities for Central Asia.
Wibke Schlömmer also recommended that Austrian business circles carefully study investment opportunities in the energy, chemical, textile and agricultural sectors of the republic, taking into account the dynamic development of these areas according to IFC analysis. The attention of the participants of the event was drawn to the privatization process in Uzbekistan and mutually beneficial transactions with foreign investors, including the privatization of Coca-Cola Uzbekistan, as well as the ongoing privatization of Ipoteka Bank.
As part of the event, an exhibition of export products from Namangan region was organized in the Embassy building. Products of the textile, leather and footwear, fashion, food, knitwear and agricultural industries are presented. In particular, men’s and women’s clothing produced jointly with world brands, dried fruits, freeze-dried natural and whole fruits, leather products, home textiles, juices and soft drinks, spices and fruit ingredients for the confectionery industry were presented.
B2B meetings were organized between entrepreneurs from the Namangan region and Austria, direct contacts were established with retailers, importers and potential partners. As a result of the exhibition, an agreement was reached on organizing visits to Namangan by representatives of such Austrian companies as AGRANA Stärke GmbH, Blue Moon Wohntextilien Handels GmbH, EK Agency, CISEG GmbH and ZENIT Spedition GmbH & Co KG.
