Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov led a high-level delegation at the Uzbek-British business forum held in London on 24 July 2023. The Uzbek delegation arrived in London for bilateral consultations with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley and members of Parliament, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reported.

After the official meetings, the Embassy of Uzbekistan in London organized a forum at the Institute of Directors. Over 180 executives from leading UK and international companies and banks attended the event, which included speeches, presentations and an informal reception.

The forum was opened with keynote speeches by Bakhtiyor Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, and Amanda Brooks, Director General of Trade Negotiations at the UK Department of Business and Trade.

Bakhtiyor Saidov appreciated the growing Uzbek-British economic relations and noted the significant potential for the development of "financial, industrial and technological partnerships" between Uzbek and British companies.

Amanda Brooks noted that in 2021, Uzbekistan became the first country admitted to the British extended GSP scheme, which means British importers do not pay import duty on more than 7,800 goods produced in Uzbekistan. Total trade between the UK and Uzbekistan has tripled since 2016, reaching £245 million in 2022.

After the keynote speeches, Deputy Minister of Investments of Uzbekistan Oybek Khamraev gave an overview of the investment environment in the country, highlighting several landmark investments made over the past year in the energy, industrial and financial sectors.

Omonullo Nasritdinkhojaev, First Deputy Minister of Mining and Geology of Uzbekistan, spoke about the significant potential of global mining companies in further developing large deposits of gold, silver, uranium, copper and coal in the country. He also provided an overview of several investment opportunities for the extraction of critical materials such as lithium, tungsten and graphite. This year, the authorities have issued 450 mining licenses in Uzbekistan.

Makhliyo Mukhinova, Chief Operating Officer of the IT Park of Uzbekistan, spoke about the dynamic growth of the country’s startup ecosystem and current government programs to stimulate the innovative economy. Uzbekistan has seen significant growth in service exports, including software development, technical support, and business process outsourcing. Approximately 10% of these exports are to the UK.

The presentations were followed by a discussion led by Esfandiyar Batmangelidj, an emerging markets investor and co-founder of Tashkent-based strategic communications firm DNA. The audience was invited to ask questions to the speakers who spoke earlier, as well as Gairat Fazilov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

“The event in the format of a business forum aroused great interest, so we had to hold it in a more spacious place. The audience asked great questions. We believe that this kind of direct and frank dialogue between our officials and British leaders is critical to the growth of trade and investment between the two countries,” said Said Rustamov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the UK.

As part of the forum, British and Uzbek companies signed several agreements related to new joint ventures and investments.