Uzbekistan Update: May 1 - May 15, 2024
Biweekly update on key developments in Uzbekistan
Notable Quotes
“We want to bring Uzbekistan into WTO and its decision-making system to shape the global economy together” Charlotte Adriaen EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan.
UPCOMING EUROUZ & MEMBER EVENTS
May 23, 2024 - EUROUZ HR & Capacity Building Members Meeting
This meeting will provide EUROUZ members with a valuable opportunity to engage with international consulting firms with presentations of their experience on Salary Survey and Talent Mapping.Time: 16:00-18:30 Tashkent
Type: Hybrid
Location: ITC, Tashkent
Please register through the following link.
May 26-28, 2024 - Belgian Multisectoral Trade Mission to Uzbekistan
Organised by EUROUZ members: Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX) & Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) If you would like to meet any of the companies on the list, please get in touch with the EUROUZ secretariat as soon as possible via email.May 29-31, 2024 - Austrian Multisectoral Trade Mission to Uzbekistan
Organised by EUROUZ members: AdvantageAustria If you would like to meet any of the companies on the list, please get in touch with the EUROUZ secretariat as soon as possible via email.May - 28, 2024 - EY webinar: IFRS 17 Implementations
As of 1 January 2023, IFRS 17 came into force as a global accounting standard for insurance and reinsurance contracts, replacing interim standard IFRS 4. The new standard is extremely complex and requires granular data inputs and outputs, more complex modelling and reconciliations, more judgement to be applied, and more detailed analysis to support and explain results. For insurance and reinsurance companies the implementation of IFRS 17 was a long journey with many challenges along the way. The goal of the webcast is to summarize the most important lessons learned from the implementation of IFRS 17 in the areas of methodology, data, processes and technology.Format: Online
Time: 15:00 - 17:00 (GMT+5)Language: Russian
Registration link.
May 30 - 31, 2024 - Third International Pharmaceutical Forum of Uzbekistan
The forum will gather leaders from the pharmaceutical industry across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Belarus, and other countries at the InterContinental Tashkent Hotel. The event will feature plenary and panel sessions, round tables, and B2B/B2G meetings, focusing on the pharmaceutical market's current issues, legislative initiatives, and industry support measures. Participants will explore investment opportunities, production localization, and the introduction of GMP, GVP, and GDP standards. The forum also provides opportunities for personal meetings to establish business contacts with leading industry players from different countries in the Eurasian region.
Location: Intercontinental Hotel Tashkent
EUROUZ & MEMBER NEWS
EUROUZ member Saneg Registers Central Asia's First Methane Emissions Program
JV Sanoat Energetika Guruhi LLC (Saneg), a leading Uzbek oil and gas company, has become the first in Central Asia to implement a methane emissions reduction project and register with the Emissions Trading Agency. The company completed the first phase of a technical upgrade, significantly reducing methane emissions using advanced leak detection and remediation in collaboration with VEMA SA and ICA-Finance AS. This decarbonization project is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by over 83,000 tons annually, improving Saneg's emissions monitoring and environmental impact. By the end of 2024, Saneg aims to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 410,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
EUROUZ member Asakabank Recognized as Uzbekistan's Most Active Issuing Bank by EBRD for Third Time
Asakabank, in cooperation with EBRD, was recognized as the most active issuing bank in trade financing in Uzbekistan. Despite joining the EBRD trade financing program in September 2019, Asakabank quickly demonstrated its capabilities in trade operations, earning the accolade for 2019 and 2022. Trade financing is now a key component of Asakabank's 2024 strategy, aligning with efforts to support small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbekistan.EUROUZ new member - Beeline Uzbekistan
Unitel LLC has been rendering services using the Beeline Uzbekistan trademark since September 12, 2006. Beeline Uzbekistan is a part of the VEON international telecommunications holding with headquarters in Amsterdam. Beeline Uzbekistan has about 1.9 thousand employees. After the entry into the Uzbekistan market in 2006, VEON has invested more than 1.4 billion USD in the telecommunications industry of the country. Unitel LLC is one of the largest taxpayers in Uzbekistan. Beeline has paid an estimated 2 billion USD of taxes for the duration of its operations in Uzbekistan.
Faced with growing environmental challenges, for more than 160 years, SUEZ has been acting to deliver essential services that protect and improve the quality of life. SUEZ enables its customers to provide access to water and waste services, with resilient and innovative solutions. With its 40,000 employees present in 40 countries, the Group also enables its customers to create value over the entire lifecycle of their assets and services, and to drive their ecological transition, together with their end-users. Managed by Sabrina Soussan, the Group generated revenues of 8,9 billion euros in 2023.
Fersol is an Italian personnel management company. The company offers: recruitment, outstaffing, contracting and global mobility services. Fersol is specialized in technicians (engineers, HSE, project managers, etc.), administrative/office staff (chief accountant, documents controller, finance manager, etc.) and Executive positions (CEO, CFO, etc.). With 5 years of experience in the territory of Uzbekistan, Fersol has supported and continues to support its Partners in major projects in the energy (conventional and renewable), infrastructure, O&G, chemical and mining sectors (just to mention the main). Fersol’s main Partners are multinational and international companies
EUROUZ new member - BNZ Industrial Support
BNZ Industrial Support LLC offers innovative solutions, products, services and technologies for the industrial construction sector in Uzbekistan. Starting in 2005 with Hilti AG (Schaan, Liechtenstein) and Leica Geosystems (Heerbrugg, Switzerland), BNZ Industrial Support supplies innovative solutions and technologies into the major industrial spheres in Uzbekistan. From 2007, BNZ operates the only fully accredited calibration laboratory for high-precision surveying equipment in Uzbekistan. BNZ is proud to have successfully supplied many of the major projects/companies in the Energy and Power sectors of Uzbekistan, including Navoi PowerPlant Phase I, Lukoil Operating, Talimarjan TPP, Tashkent PowerPlant, Syrdarya CCPP and the Turakurgan project in Namangan, as well as all of the gas and oil refineries (Muborak, Shurtan, Ferghana). In addition, BNZ client portfolio includes esteemed organizations such as AMMC (Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex) and NMMC (Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat), National Center of Geodesy and Cartography, projects in Tashkent City and Tashkent Airport.
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Table of contents of this Uzbek.Review report for paid subscribers & members:
1. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
1.1 EUROPE
1.2 CENTRAL ASIA & CAUCASUS
1.3 RUSSIA & CHINA
1.4 MIDDLE EAST, EAST ASIA & SOUTH-EAST ASIA
1.5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
2. PUBLIC POLICY
3. LEGISLATION
3.1 APPOINTMENTS
4. ECONOMY
4.1 KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS, LOANS, & PUBLIC FINANCE
4.2 AGRICULTURE, MINING, & MANUFACTURING
4.3 CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE
4.4 TRADE AND BUSINESS
4.5 ENERGY & PETROCHEMICALS
5. USEFUL LINKS AND NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
1. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
1.1 EUROPE
Uzbekistan Establishes Special Economic Zone for Hungarian and European Companies
During a meeting between Uzbekistan's President and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, discussions focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation. Attention was drawn to the significance of promptly establishing a special economic zone in the Tashkent region to facilitate projects by Hungarian and European companies. Various sectors including industry, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fisheries, logistics, and real estate development were addressed as areas for potential collaboration. The meeting aimed to advance mutual interests and deepen economic ties between the two nations.
Uzbekistan Targets European Markets via Lithuania for Product Exports
During the ongoing visit to Lithuania by a delegation led by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, a significant meeting was held with Laimonas Rimkus, the general director of Bega, a prominent Lithuanian logistics company. Discussions primarily revolved around potential collaborations for exporting Uzbek products to European markets, particularly through Lithuania to Western Europe. An agreement was reached to establish a trading house of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, alongside a storage hub and economic terminal in the Klaipeda port, facilitating the distribution and export of Uzbek goods to European markets via Lithuania.
Uzbek, Hungarian FMs discuss issues of developing bilateral ties
Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction at the expanding agenda of the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Hungary. Discussions encompassed bilateral and multilateral cooperation, with a focus on enhancing ties across various sectors. Additionally, both parties signed an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources, alongside a Cooperation Program between their Ministries for the years 2024-2026.
Uzbekistan-EU Agenda Enrichment Discussed
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan met with the Director for Human Development, Migration, Governance, and Peace of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission. Gerretsen commended Uzbekistan's reforms aimed at significantly enhancing the status of women in the country. The discussions centered on strengthening bilateral relations and emphasized the practical enrichment of the Uzbekistan-EU agenda. Both parties also exchanged views on forthcoming joint events.
1.2 CENTRAL ASIA & CAUCASUS
Uzbekistan, Cyprus Discuss Bilateral Relations Development
The Minister Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, to discuss the current state of bilateral relations and bolster cooperation between businesses from both nations. The meeting highlighted the positive economic momentum between Uzbekistan and Cyprus, evidenced by a notable increase in mutual trade volume and the establishment of joint ventures in recent years. Both parties expressed readiness to further enhance investment partnerships and industrial cooperation. Notably, by the end of 2023, Uzbek-Cypriot trade turnover had surged eightfold, with 80 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan, including 54 with full Cypriot capital investment.
1.3 RUSSIA & CHINA
Uzbekistan Targets $5 Billion Russian Investments in 2024
The joint investment portfolio between Uzbekistan and Russia has surpassed $44 billion, with plans to absorb $5 billion in Russian investments this year. Agreements worth $4 billion were secured at the "Innoprom. Central Asia" industrial exhibition, resulting in the creation of 700 new companies with Russian participation and $3 billion disbursed in 2023. The head of MIIT expressed confidence in achieving the $5 billion investment target, highlighting comprehensive plans across various sectors and regions. Additionally, investment agreements and export contracts totaling $26.6 billion were signed at the Tashkent International Investment Forum, covering diverse sectors such as construction, green energy, mining, and healthcare.
1.4 MIDDLE EAST, EAST ASIA & SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan meets with Prime Minister of Pakistan
During a meeting between Uzbekistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov and Pakistan's Prime Minister Sahbaz Sharif, discussions focused on elevating bilateral relations. The Uzbek minister conveyed greetings from the President of Uzbekistan. The dialogue included advancing Uzbekistan-Pakistan relations, highlighting prospects in bilateral, regional, and international cooperation. Both parties expressed readiness to deepen cooperation across economic, investment, inter-parliamentary, and cultural domains.
Uzbekistan and Qatar Strengthen Interparliamentary Relations
During the Asian Women’s Forum, the Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan's Oliy Majlis met with the Deputy Chairman of Qatar's Advisory Council. Both parties highlighted the rapid development of friendly and partnership relations between Uzbekistan and Qatar, including the establishment of regular political consultations and the elevation of diplomatic ties. Emphasis was placed on inter-parliamentary relations, focusing on sustaining active dialogue between inter-parliamentary groups and relevant committees. Representatives from both countries agreed to enhance cooperation and exchange experiences within international organizations and other bilateral domains.
Korean Automotive Sector to Employ 3,000 Uzbek Citizens
The Korea Automobile Industry Association, representing 6,800 enterprises with 48,000 employees, requires an additional 3,000 workers annually in the automobile sector. This need was highlighted during a meeting between Uzbekistan's Minister of Employment and Poverty Alleviation and the Chairman of the Automotive Industry Association of South Korea at the Uzbek Embassy in South Korea. The meeting emphasized the strong relations between both nations and affirmed their intent to collaborate in labor relations. It was agreed to involve Uzbek citizens interested in vehicle maintenance swiftly in this new initiative.
1.5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Uzbekistan Inks $3.5 Billion Program Deal with ADB
A delegation from Uzbekistan, led by the Deputy Prime Minister, participated in the 57th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in Tbilisi on May 4-5. During the event, a memorandum was signed between the Deputy Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade and ADB's Director General for Central and West Asia, outlining a $3.5 billion program for 2025-2027. This program includes projects aligned with the objectives of the "Uzbekistan – 2030" Strategy, promising mutual benefits.
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