Uzbek President Meets with Heads of Leading German Companies and Banks

On May 3, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the heads of Germany's leading companies and financial institutions, as part of a business program of the visit to this country.

The event from the German side was attended by the heads of the Eastern Committee of German Economy, the German-Uzbek Business Council, the German Energy Agency, the heads of about 30 largest 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 was first held in January 2019, during the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Germany.

Several joint high-tech projects were launched in Uzbekistan to modernize sectors of the economy. Trade, economic and investment partnerships were noticeably intensified.

Addressing the meeting, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized the achieved high level of trust and mutual respect in relations with Germany. More than 60 projects worth 5 billion euros are being implemented in Uzbekistan with the participation of German partners.

Only in recent years, the volume of German investments has amounted to 4 billion euros, 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 the regular “synchronization of watches”.

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 must be played by business circles.

Thus, on the sidelines of the Uzbekistan – Germany Business Forum held the day before, several new trade, financial and investment agreements worth 9 billion euros were signed to develop industrial cooperation and enhance technological partnership.

These are large-scale projects in green energy, transport infrastructure development, metallurgy, water supply, agriculture, chemical, mining, automotive, textile, electrical industries, and other areas.

It is planned to enhance interaction in the banking and financial sector, 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 global economy.

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

According to the new Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, guarantees to ensure the inviolability of private property are strengthened, provisions are established on the creation by the state of conditions for fair competition and the independence of the judiciary.

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 emerging ambiguities will be interpreted in favor of investors.

“A foreign investor should associate Uzbekistan first of all with stability, reliability and predictability”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted. “We are ready to create all the conditions for every German businessman to feel free and confident in our country. We can achieve great results by combining Germany’s advanced developments and innovative technologies with Uzbekistan’s resources and human potential”.

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

During the exchange of views, German businesspeople highly appreciated the practical significance of the reforms being implemented in Uzbekistan, which create prerequisites for more ambitious and long-term plans of German businesses to carry out investment activities in Uzbekistan.

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

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sincerely thanked the German business representatives for their current initiatives, expressed satisfaction with the substantive dialogue that had taken place, and instructed the heads of relevant ministries and agencies to approve an Action Plan that provides for the joint development of projects and, in general, the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit.