Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 3 November 2020, under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev, a videoconference was held to discuss the current state and further measures to stimulate investment and export activities.

The meeting was attended by heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, commercial banks and local authorities of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regions and Tashkent city. Responsible managers presented detailed reports on the current results of work on attracting investments, implementing investment projects and increasing exports by industry and region.

First of all, the meeting reviewed the current indicators of export activity. The indicators increased by 29% compared to the same period of last year, however, a critical analysis by regions and industries showed a number of omissions. In view of the unsatisfactory work in terms of supporting entrepreneurs and exporters in solving their problems, the activities of the relevant heads of local authorities of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Andijan, Bukhara, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya, Surkhandarya, Ferghana, Khorezm regions, and also Associations "Uztekstilprom", "Uzpromstroymaterialy", Horticulture and Greenhouse Development Agencies; and Pharmaceutical Development Agency.

An instruction was given to develop schedules by regions and industries - indicating specific volumes of export deliveries and responsible managers, as well as to intensify the interaction of heads of local authorities assigned to enterprises, industry associations and commercial banks directly with exporters. The main goal is to increase the efficiency of systematic work to quickly solve problems, increase the volume and expand the geography of product supplies abroad, as well as involve new enterprises in export activities.

In a similar vein, the results achieved in the framework of investment activities are considered. In the period from January to October of this year, within the framework of the State Investment Program, US$8.2 billion of foreign investment was disbursed, 91 large projects worth US$3.2 billion were put into operation, and 14.8 thousand new jobs were created. However, as noted, against the backdrop of positive facts, there are individual examples of dishonest work. In this context, the activities of the relevant heads of local authorities of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Andijan, Bukhara, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya, Surkhandarya, Tashkent, Khorezm regions, JSC "Thermal Power Plants", JSC "Uzbekneftegaz", JSC "Uzsuvtaminot", JSC "Uzbekiston temir yo’llari", JSC "Territorial Electric Networks" and a number of ministries for the timely development of attracted foreign investment and funds from international financial institutions were criticized.

The importance of monitoring the implementation of each investment project and preventing delays in the development of investments was emphasized. This includes the timely implementation of regional investment programs. Thus, by the end of this year, it is planned to launch 3,466 projects worth US$4.8 billion with the creation of 127.9 thousand new jobs. In this context, the importance of commercial banks’ support for promising projects and the provision of comprehensive assistance to their initiators by local authorities was especially noted.

As a result of the meeting, the personal responsibility of each leader for the fulfillment of the tasks set was emphasized. Control over their timely implementation will be carried out by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan.