The President of Uzbekistan met with the heads of leading companies and banks in Germany

As part of the business program of his visit to Germany, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with the heads of leading companies and financial institutions of this country on May 3.

The event was attended by the heads of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, the German-Uzbek Business Council, the German Energy Agency, heads of about 30 major companies and banks, such as CLAAS, Knauf, Siemens Energy, Lasselsberger, Aurubis, Linde Group, Gunter Papenburg, Falk-Porsche-Technik, Mangold Consulting, DB Engineering, Landesbank, Commerzbank, KfW Bank, Deutsche Bank and others.

The dialogue in this format took place for the first time in January 2019, as part of the official visit of the head of our state to Germany.

As a result, a number of joint high-tech projects on modernization of economic sectors were launched in Uzbekistan, trade, economic and investment partnership was noticeably intensified.

Opening the meeting, the President of Uzbekistan highlighted the high level of trust and mutual respect achieved in relations with Germany. More than 60 projects totaling 5 billion euros are being implemented in our country with the participation of German partners.

In recent years alone, the volume of German investments has amounted to 4 billion euros, and the number of joint ventures has doubled. Such "locomotives" of the German economy as CLAAS, Knauf, Gunter Papenburg, Linde Group and Falk-Porsche-Technik are successfully operating in Uzbekistan.

The German-Uzbek Business Council, chaired by the Prime Minister from the Uzbek side, has become an important mechanism for regular "reconciliation of hours".

The President emphasized that the key role in the implementation of the breakthrough agreements reached during the current visit and further joint plans can and should be played by the business community.

Thus, on the sidelines of the Uzbek-German business forum held the day before, a number of new trade, financial and investment agreements on the development of industrial cooperation and the expansion of technological partnership worth 9 billion euros were signed.

We are talking about large-scale projects in the fields of "green" energy, development of transport infrastructure, metallurgy, water supply, agriculture, chemical, mining, automotive, textile, electrical industry and other areas.

It is planned to expand cooperation in the banking and financial sphere, in particular on project financing with such major German banks as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, KfW and Landesbank.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted Uzbekistan's readiness to become an effective and reliable platform for German business in the new realities of large-scale and serious shocks in the world economy.

To this end, the necessary conditions and unique opportunities have been created for investors, a favorable fiscal system has been created – the number of taxes has been reduced, VAT rates have been reduced, and a number of customs duties have been abolished. Administrative reform has been carried out.

According to the new Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, guarantees to ensure the inviolability of private property have been strengthened, provisions on the creation by the State of conditions for fair competition and the independence of the judicial system have been clearly fixed.

It was emphasized that now the state guarantees the rights of investors and their protection in court. From now on, not entrepreneurs, but government agencies will be required to prove the legality of their decisions. And any ambiguities that arise will be interpreted in favor of investors.

– Uzbekistan should be associated with foreign investors primarily with stability, reliability and predictability, – said Shavkat Mirziyoyev. – We are ready to create all conditions so that every German businessman feels free and confident in our country. By combining the advanced developments and innovative technologies of Germany with the resources and human potential of Uzbekistan, we will be able to achieve great results.

The dialogue with entrepreneurs once again showed the great interest of the German business community in building up cooperation.

During the exchange of views, representatives of the German business community highly appreciated the practical significance of the reforms being implemented in Uzbekistan, which create prerequisites for bolder and longer-term plans of German business to carry out investment activities in our country.

At the meeting, specific proposals were made by the heads of German companies. Readiness was expressed for further continuation of practical cooperation and expansion of cooperation in priority areas with the introduction of high-tech and innovative solutions.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sincerely thanked German business representatives for relevant initiatives, expressed satisfaction with the meaningful dialogue that took place and instructed the heads of relevant ministries and departments to approve a roadmap providing for joint development of projects and, in general, the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit.