Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 13 February  2020, the Embassy of Uzbekistan held a briefing in Kuala Lumpur with the Eximbank of Malaysia, the Malaysian Corporation for the Development of Foreign Trade (MATRADE) and the Malaysian-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce (IUTP) on the upcoming Tashkent International Investment Forum.

The briefing participants were provided with detailed information on the goals, objectives and importance of the TMIF for identifying new foreign partners for the joint implementation of promising investment projects and entering new markets, organizing the export of domestic products.

In his speech, the director of Eximbank Nazri Abdul Rahim noted the bank’s interest in establishing cooperation with relevant commercial structures of Uzbekistan to finance joint investment and export-oriented projects, as well as its readiness to consider the possibility of providing soft loans for the development of small and private sectors of the republic, which will further intensify the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including in the field of implementation and projects for organizing high-value-demand products. He also noted that the chairman of the bank, Feyzal Mustafa, and himself, will take part in the TMIF from Eximbank.

IUCP Secretary General Raj Durairaj emphasized that Uzbekistan plays a key role in the development of the Central Asian economy as a whole. The country’s rich raw material base, tax and customs privileges provided, as well as the possibility of unhindered exports of products manufactured in the republic to other CIS countries open up new opportunities for industrial enterprises in Malaysia to create modern environmentally friendly industries, including in the territory of free economic zones. As noted, in the course of the participation of the IUCP leadership at the TMIF, it is planned to sign an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan to create a joint business council with its first meeting in October.

MATRADE manager Roslaili Osman said that since 2018, the corporation’s leadership has been organizing visits to Malaysia’s business circles to Uzbekistan annually with joint business forums and B2B meetings. She emphasized that in October 2019, the MATRADE representative office was opened at the Malaysian Embassy in Uzbekistan, and the corporation plans to send its representatives to participate in the TMIF.

As of 13 February 2020, the number of Malaysian enterprises and organizations registered to participate in the upcoming forum is more than 20 companies.

As a result of the briefing, an agreement was reached on signing firm agreements on the implementation of investment projects in the field of chemical and electrical industries, education, logistics, as well as interbank cooperation within the framework of the TMIF.