Dr Booth, who retired from the post on 16 July 2012, has been co-Chair since 1998. Dr Booth was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2010 and Dostlik (Friendship) Order in 2011 for his longstanding service and his contribution to the development of friendly relations between the UK and Uzbekistan. UBTIC's other co-Chair is His Excellency Mr Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade of Uzbekistan.

As a former UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lilley has a wealth of experience of British business, and has visited Uzbekistan on several occasions in recent years. He served successively as Secretary of State for Trade & Industry (1990-92) in Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet and Secretary of State for Social Security (1992-97) in John Major’s Cabinet. He was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-1999.

The UK’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Rupert Joy, said: ‘The appointment of Peter Lilley as co-Chair of UBTIC underscores the importance that the Government of the United Kingdom attaches to developing strong business links with Uzbekistan’.

UBTIC is a government-sponsored trade promotion body designed to assist and support British and Uzbek businesses to strengthen bilateral economic co-operation. It comes under the umbrella of the British Government's overseas trade organisation, United Kingdom Trade & Investment (UKTI). The 19th session of UBTIC is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012 in Tashkent.