On March 19, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov held a meeting with Timothy Smart, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Uzbekistan. The discussion focused on key issues related to trade, economic, and investment cooperation, as well as the coordination of the event schedule for 2025.
The parties emphasized the positive dynamics of bilateral trade, economic, and investment relations. In 2024, the volume of bilateral trade turnover reached $352 million. Uzbekistan hosts 260 enterprises with British capital across various sectors, including agriculture, food, mining, pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, trade, and services. In 2024, over $1 billion in direct investments from the UK were attracted.
The meeting discussed proposals aimed at expanding the range of Uzbek product exports to the UK, as well as enhancing investment cooperation between the two countries.
In this context, measures have been established to organize joint events, seminars, and workshops aimed at raising awareness among representatives of the business community, civil society, and government agencies about the unique opportunities for increasing exports of Uzbek products to the UK market. This initiative seeks to effectively leverage all the benefits of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme.
Comprehensive measures aimed at attracting British investors to establish joint ventures in the country for the production and subsequent export of goods—particularly through the establishment of long-term supply contracts with prominent retail chains in the United Kingdom—could significantly enhance the development of bilateral trade.
The British delegation also proposed new mechanisms to enhance trade through the adoption of a relevant document by the Uzbek-British Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Both parties expressed their willingness to finance several joint projects and trade contracts through the UK government’s Export Credit Agency (UKEF).
