How to attract investors to the regions and what conditions do they need to create? How to increase the level of confidence in financial structures? What is the role of state authorities in the field in this process?
The answers to these and other questions were sought by the participants of the international conference on the topic: “Accelerating economic reforms and increasing the investment attractiveness of the country’s regions: problems and solutions”.
The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan organized a joint event with the United Nations Development Program. The conference was attended by heads of ministries and departments, administrations of regional hokimiyats, free economic zones, as well as representatives of 31 countries, including heads of diplomatic missions, international organizations and business structures.
Currently, Uzbekistan is in the process of implementing large-scale economic reforms that meet modern requirements. Laws and decrees aimed at further liberalizing the economy, modernizing and diversifying production, and improving the business environment on the ground have been adopted and are being consistently implemented. The ongoing reforms are aimed at simplifying the processes related to the conduct of business activities, passing permitting procedures, obtaining licenses – in general, to reduce government regulation.
In his message to the Oliy Majlis, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke about the need to increase the activity of hokims, heads of state bodies and organizations in terms of expanding cooperation with foreign investors, creating new types of production, and jobs. It was suggested that the rating should be published based on local conditions for investors, and the activities of regional leaders should be assessed on the basis of these indicators.
All this, in the long run, is aimed at further stimulating the attraction of foreign investment in the economy and the regions of the country by improving the investment climate, which is one of the priority tasks identified in the Country Development Strategy in 2017-2021. At the same time, the implementation of this priority task is a direct path leading to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which imply stable economic growth, the creation of new jobs and the improvement of the life of the population of Uzbekistan.
As you know, the process of improving the investment environment begins with the identification of actual problems in practice. The Senate of the Oliy Majlis, together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the United Nations Development Program, conducted a survey among representatives of local authorities, free economic and small industrial zones, as well as business on the terms of doing business in the period from March 25 to April 5, 2018 activities in the context of the regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the results of which were presented during the conference.
The survey showed that the ongoing reforms are widely supported and meet the expectations of the business community and the interests of creating favorable conditions for doing business. In addition, as practice has shown, the organization of an open and critical dialogue between government officials and the business community is an important factor in the early resolution of identified problems.
Representatives of government authorities, the business community, leading international consulting companies and research institutes discussed the main drivers and barriers to the development of the business climate in the regions of Uzbekistan, as well as the problematic issues identified in the survey.
During the event, it was noted the importance of further development of industrial, engineering, communication, road and transport infrastructure, as well as the formation of a modern system for providing quality services on a one-stop-shop basis, strengthening guarantees and benefits for foreign investors and enterprises with foreign investments.
Based on the results of the discussion, relevant recommendations were adopted aimed at improving work in this area, developing the necessary measures to improve the business environment, eliminating urgent problems of regional development and attracting foreign investment to Uzbekistan.
Information Service
of the Senate of Oliy Majlis
of the Republic of Uzbekistan