Dushanbe hosts Uzbekistan – Tajikistan Investment Business Forum

On April 17 this year, Dushanbe hosted the Uzbekistan – Tajikistan Investment Business Forum on the eve of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to the Republic of Tajikistan.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Usmonali Usmonzoda and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojayev co-chaired the event. The forum was also attended by over 600 representatives of the business community, heads of ministries and agencies, industry associations, and regional administrations of the two countries.

Delivering his welcoming speech, Jamshid Khojayev emphasized the strategic level of multifaceted cooperation, which has significantly strengthened in recent years thanks to the trust between the two countries’ leaders.

An increase in bilateral trade volumes was noted. Over the past eight years, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has increased threefold to $750 million in 2023 and by another 40 percent since the beginning of the year.

Significant results are observed in investment cooperation – today, over 370 joint ventures operate on the territory of the two states, although in 2017, their number was only 17.

Based on the accumulated experience of joint work, support, and mutual understanding, the highest priority areas for the development of cooperation were identified: metallurgy and mining, development and processing of mineral resources, development of wind and solar power, hydropower, mechanical engineering and production of electrical products, agro-industrial complex, and light industry. The country’s government was fully prepared to provide comprehensive assistance to new investment projects.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Usmonali Usmonzoda also highly appreciated the potential for developing cooperation in trade, investment, and industrial cooperation and called on representatives of the two countries’ business circles to interact actively and boldly and establish partnerships.

The role of Uzbekistan – Tajikistan Investment Company was announced separately, for the use of its resources a list of 14 projects with a total value of $135 million was formed.

Following the business forum, a solid package of documents was signed, based on which a roadmap would be developed, including specific performers and deadlines for the implementation of each project.

UzA