William D. Patterson: “There is a very bright future for Uzbekistan”

Practical activities for improving the business environment in the country, widely promoting the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan are yielding results. These efforts are reflected in the initiatives of the regions on attracting foreign direct investment from partner countries, expanding the number of foreign entrepreneurs who wish to invest in the country’s economy. A vivid confirmation of this is the activity of the United States company Silverleafe International, which has been operating in Uzbekistan since 2018.

The President of the company William D. Patterson, during a conversation with UzA correspondent Gayrat Khonnazarov, spoke about trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States, promising projects for expanding the company’s activities in Uzbekistan.

– Our company is an employee owned boutique investment management firm established in 2004. We have been working in Uzbekistan for approximately one year. Our family relationship with Uzbekistan is four decades old and my personal relationship with Uzbekistan goes back to 1994. We enjoy a vast understanding of the rich heritage and welcome the opportunities being created.

We have found the business environment here to be very inviting. The most importantly we have found Uzbekistan’s current government administration to be really supportive. The openness and the support of the progress that needs to be made has been very evident to us as an American business. We have seen support from the ministries of Investments and Foreign Trade, Water Recourses, Agriculture, Justice, Finance. We received great support from Jizzakh regional khokimiyat, as well as from Pakhtakor district khokimiyat. The provided support is essential for us to be successful.

Recently, the first visit of a certified U.S. trade mission to Uzbekistan took place. At Uzbekistan – USA business forum, held during this visit, our company presented its new technologies and methods. This trade mission has connected my company with other local clusters and Uzbek businesses, which has been very valuable to us.

We have spoken with clusters from Andijan (Samo LLC) and Samarkand (Korea – Samarkand JV) regions. We also met with Central Asia Seed Company (CASC) in Syrdarya region. We will work on agreements of cooperation with them. In the future, we intend to expand the company’s activities with the creation of joint ventures.

Our newly appointed Ambassador Daniel Rosenblum is so warmly embraced by Uzbekistan leadership. Such friendly relationship between the U.S. diplomatic mission and the government of Uzbekistan also serve the development of business relations. In a word, there is a very bright future for Uzbekistan. And we are ready to work closely to achieve this.

UzA