Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19 February, at a meeting of the Senate Committee on International Relations, Foreign Economic Relations, Foreign Investment and Tourism, reports were heard from the ambassadors of Uzbekistan to Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

The meeting was attended by senators, deputies of local Kengashes of people’s deputies, heads of relevant ministries and departments, state companies, representatives of local executive authorities and the media.

The hearings were organized as part of establishing parliamentary control over the implementation of tasks and instructions formed on the basis of an in-depth analysis during a video conference held under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on January 18 this year.

The focus of the discussion was to ensure timely and high-quality implementation of the draft road maps adopted as a result of the high-level visits. During the open and objective discussion, issues and problems related to the implementation of the road maps were discussed in detail.

It was noted that in 2023, together with Türkiye, US$1.2 billion of direct investment was attracted, and more than 300 new enterprises were created with the participation of these state-owned companies.

At the same time, the senators expressed concern about the fact that over the past 2 years there has been a downward trend in the export of products produced in Uzbekistan to Türkiye. In addition, persistent non-tariff barriers to bilateral trade were noted.

It was noted that, together with Türkiye, out of 48 investment projects totaling US$613.4 million, for various reasons, 6 investment projects totaling US$20.5 million are behind schedule. Also, due to the inaction of a number of ministries and departments, as well as poor quality of projects, 11 of them worth US$342 million are not being implemented. Responsible for the implementation of these projects were the Ministry of Health, Uzeltehsanoat, and the khokimiyats of Navoi and Namangan regions.

The senators highly appreciated the work carried out by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Azerbaijan in the areas of political, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Achievements in the trade and economic sphere were noted. In 2023, an Uzbek-Azerbaijani joint investment fund was created with an authorized capital of US$500 million. Thus, on the initiative of the embassy, 4 investment projects worth US$115 million are being implemented.

At the same time, recommendations were made to the head of the diplomatic mission to improve the effectiveness of the embassy’s work in the oil and gas industry assigned to it, Namangan and Khorezm regions.

It was noted that there are a number of problems in the implementation of the “Road Map” adopted following the visit at the highest level.

In particular, 4 of the 87 projects listed in the Road Map, totaling US$72 million, are being implemented late. Practical work on 8 investment projects by the Ministry of Agriculture is also slowly progressing.

The parliamentarians expressed their criticism regarding the low efficiency and provision of weak feedback from industry departments and companies, as well as regional khokimiyats in considering proposals and appeals from the diplomatic missions of the republic during the implementation of investment projects and the organization of bilateral meetings. The necessity of appropriate coordination of actions with the embassies of Uzbekistan was noted.

The heads of diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan were given detailed recommendations and specific tasks were identified to improve the effectiveness of their activities.

Following the meeting, relevant decisions were made by the Senate Committee of the Oliy Majlis.