Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In line with priorities indicated by the leadership of Uzbekistan directed at further deepening integration in international trade and attraction of investments into export oriented industries, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with United Nations Development Program in Uzbekistan cooperate within a series of directions which are of great importance for ensuring sustainable development of Uzbekistan.

Special attention is paid to development of trade. In this direction, preparation work on further support of exporters and further simplification of procedures for exporters have been conducted. On November 17, 2011, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan №305 “On introduction on stage-by-stage basis the mechanism of “Single window” for carrying out export operations” has been released. In line with this decision in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) a training seminar on international best practices of introduction “Single window” for foreign trade was organized. Participation of experts at training programme “Single electronic trade window planning, implementation and operations” in Singapore was supported.

Within the work on further integration of Uzbekistan into international trade, the internet portal www.exporter.uz has been improved, as a full-scale online tool to promote local products to exports by creating the possibility of monitoring the prices and entering into export contracts. The work on integration of enterprises of Uzbekistan into Global Value Chains and using it as an instrument for promotion of export to global markets, as well as on optimization of logistics and transport support of foreign trade of Uzbekistan have been implemented.

Besides, special attention is paid to strengthen potential of Uzbekistan in process of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this context, two-day workshop on market access on goods and services for WTO accession negotiations with participation of the representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was held in Tashkent. One of the key tasks of the workshop was to improve knowledge of the participants on activities of the WTO and use of this mechanism as a tool for promotion of economic interests of Uzbekistan.

Another important direction of mutual cooperation is strengthening export potential of small and private businesses. The decision of the leadership of Uzbekistan on creation of specialized company “Uztadbirkorexport” opened new opportunities for small and private businesses of Uzbekistan in getting access to foreign markets. In line with this decision technical capacity of regional divisions of the company was strengthened. Participation of representatives of farms, agriculture firms of Uzbekistan along with “Uztadbirkorexport” at various events, in particular, at International exhibition “World Food Moscow” supported. The Uzbek businesses from various regions of Uzbekistan, including Tashkent, Surkhandarya region, Navoi region, Namangan region and Ferghana region, presented their products at the event. The exhibition served as a good opportunity for Uzbek businesses to present their products to food suppliers from 70 countries of the world, including from Russia, CIS, Europe and Asia. During the event, the delegation of Uzbekistan established contacts with 60 potential partners and signed direct contracts for over US$3.3 million. For further support of efforts of small and private businesses to access foreign markets reference-guide for exporters with visual media have been elaborated.

It is worth to mention that the Decree of the President of Republic of Uzbekistan “On additional measures for strengthening incentives for enterprises/exporters and expanding export supplies of competitive goods” (#PP-1731 dated March 26, 2012) once again proves adherence of Uzbekistan in strengthening its export potential, which plays an important role in ensuring sustainable economic growth of the country.

The attraction of foreign investments is another important direction of activity which plays crucial role in modernization of economy and construction of modern production capacities.

Investment inflows substantially depend on existence of access to reliable and comprehensive information on investment opportunities of the country. In this regard active the work on strengthening institutional potential of Investment Promotion Agency “Uzinfoinvest” and integration into World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) have been conducted. Investment web portal www.investuzbekistan.uz of IPA “Uzinfoinvest” was launched.

Besides, the Unified Database of Investment Proposals was developed to create effective mechanism for monitoring and streamlining the process of preparation of investment proposals, provide comprehensive and updated information for potential investors about investment projects in Uzbekistan.

Special attention is paid to development of special economic zones in Uzbekistan and raising awareness of potential investors about their activities. In line with this, interactive website of Navoi Free Industrial Economic Zone www.fiez.uz has been developed. The website offers actual business proposals, which can be implemented with participation of foreign partners. It is planned to carry out the work on improving the quality of services provided on the territory of special economic zones through introduction of “One-stop-shop” services.

Within practical assistance to small and private businesses in development of trade and attraction of investments a series of pilot projects are being implemented in Namangan region, in particular: establishing an Arts Development and Trade Promotion Center, which attracts home based women in Uychi district; reconstruction and equipping cold storage facility for storing fruits and vegetables in Turakurgan district: project on production of dried fruits in Zarkent village of Yangikurgan district. All these projects directed at creating new jobs, introducing of modern technologies and developing trade.

In this article, we partially covered the joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade of Uzbekistan and United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan. We hope that such successful initiatives and cooperation examples will increase and benefit people of Uzbekistan. “If we could help with our support to achieve national development priorities, we think we made success”, said Mr. Jaco Cilliers, acting UNDP Resident Representative. His words confirm the achieved level of mutual understanding and readiness of United Nations Development Programme actively support reforms directed on comprehensive and sustainable development of Uzbekistan.