Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 29 August, with the assistance of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Egypt, a meeting was held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan between Islam Jasimov, First Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Yousef Halavi, Secretary General of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICTA).

The Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture was established in 1976 under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and is designed to assist the development of private Muslim entrepreneurship in the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Board of the Chamber consists of 18 members. The chamber has branches in Karachi, Cairo and Istanbul. Istanbul hosts the ITPSP Arbitration Center for all Muslim countries.

During the meeting, Islam Jasimov spoke about the activities and tasks of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, as well as about the policy of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan aimed at developing small, medium and large businesses and about the practical steps of the Government of Uzbekistan to further stimulate entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan.

Jasimov also noted that at the third annual open dialogue of the Head of State with entrepreneurs, held on 18 August, important changes were announced aimed at improving the activities of entrepreneurs in tax, financial and other areas. In particular, he said that Qishloq Qurilish Bank is now planned to be transformed into a Business Development Bank in order to create favorable conditions for lending to entrepreneurs' projects, and in this regard, he noted that Uzbek entrepreneurs are interested in the issue of Islamic lending.

On this issue, Yousef Halavi noted that he is also the Secretary General of the Al Baraka Islamic Economy Forum and that a conference is planned to be held in Cairo on 1 October 2023, where issues of Islamic lending will also be discussed.

Also, Yousef Halavi said that ICTA has a strong analytical and informational base, which conducts technical and economic analysis for all countries of the world.

He noted the expediency of signing an appropriate agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan and the ICTA. He also proposed to consider the issue of membership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan in the ICTA.