Uzbekistan Infrastructure Deep-Dive

British Expertise International is delighted to be joined by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the UK, the UK Department for Business and Trade and UK Export Finance for the latest overview of the pipeline of opportunities in the country, and the support available to British companies.

Our speakers will discuss priorities, plans and recent UK business successes in infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan and highlight some of the instruments available to support UK organisations in business development and FDI. This comes at a time when Uzbekistan is currently awaiting a referendum on a package of constitution reforms, with some proposed amendments designed to support SMEs, fair competition, the protection of private property and the development of a favourable investment and business climate.

Uzbekistan’s geographical position provides it with the potential to become a hub for trade in Central Asia, however it also faces one of the most serious infrastructure investment gaps in the region. Last year the Uzbek government launched the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy 2022-2026, in a bid to build upon demonstrated stability, development, and the continuation of robust economic growth.

The Uzbekistan government views the private sector as a key driver of economic growth – as shown the 2021 economic reforms in favour of an open market and the new development strategy – and have allocated $14bn via public-private partnerships and investment across various sectors, amongst them being utilities, energy and transport. In the energy sector, the development of renewable energy is a national priority as it aims to generate 30% of its national electricity generation from renewables by 2030.

Our speakers will demonstrate some of the current opportunities for UK businesses across physical infrastructure, and discuss how the ease of doing business has been improving over the past six years. The Uzbek Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Said Rustamov, will provide an introduction around the proposed reform package which will be put to a referendum on April 30th. We will then hear from Ravshanbek Dushanov, Head of Trade and Investment at the Embassy of Uzbekistan, with more detail on proposed policy developments and plans for bilateral visits in 2023.

Following the presentations from the Uzbekistan embassy, we will hear from the UK Department for Business and Trade’s Country Director for Uzbekistan, Laurie Moorhead, on ease of doing business in Uzbekistan. Finally, Senior Business Origination Manager for Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at UK Export Finance, Sean Burnage, who will provide an overview of UKEF’s current risk appetite in Uzbekistan, the support that UKEF can provide, eligibility criteria, as well as specific detail on the banks that UK organisations can work through and some recent examples of successful projects.

Join us for this session as we delve into the opportunities for UK business in infrastructure development in Uzbekistan.