Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, during a meeting in Riyadh with the Minister of Investments of Saudi Arabia Khalid al-Falih, discussed the current state of bilateral relations and prospects for expanding investment, trade-economic cooperation between the two states.
According to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT), there are currently about 40 enterprises with Saudi capital operating in Uzbekistan. Projects with such leading Saudi companies as ACWA Power, Al-Habib Medical Group and others have been successfully implemented. At the same time, taking into account the significant untapped potential for the development of cooperation in the investment sphere, the parties discussed the prospects for the implementation of new projects in such areas as the chemical, metallurgical, mining and textile industries, as well as agriculture. They agreed to work together to attract Uzbek and Saudi businesses to participate in these projects.
Further steps to increase the success of Saudi companies in the energy sector of Uzbekistan were discussed. The meeting participants analyzed the current state of ongoing projects and exchanged proposals for their accelerated completion and commissioning of generating capacities under construction.
Special attention was paid to projects aimed at ensuring food security. The parties agreed to form a separate investment portfolio in the field of agriculture and processing of agricultural products, which provides for the introduction of innovative and water-saving technologies. Cooperation in the textile industry was also discussed.
Also during the conversation, the parties reviewed the implementation of the agreements reached within the framework of the 5th meeting of the Uzbek-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Science and Technology, Culture, Sports and Youth held in March in Tashkent and the 3rd meeting of the joint Business Council. They also worked out a number of issues for more active promotion of agreed projects and initiatives.
In the context of the further expansion of the Uzbek-Saudi investment partnership, the possibilities of the Fund created in 2021 together with the Islamic Development Bank and the Saudi Development Fund were considered. The parties agreed to work out opportunities for the implementation of new projects with the involvement of the resources of the above financial institutions.
Following the meeting, further joint actions aimed at finding new points of intersection of mutual interests and expanding mutually beneficial investment cooperation between the two countries were identified.
