Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The third international pharmaceutical forum was held in Tashkent, where the development of the pharmaceutical industry and support for manufacturers in Uzbekistan was discussed.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Health together with the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Network and the Association of Representative Offices of Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies and Manufacturers in Uzbekistan.

The forum was attended by representatives of relevant ministries and government departments of Uzbekistan, as well as leading companies and manufacturers from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Belarus, distributors and specialists in industry regulation and licensing.

Over the past six years, the volume of pharmaceutical production in Uzbekistan has tripled, and exports have increased sixfold. The number of enterprises in this area has increased by one and a half times, reaching 210, and the labeling system has been introduced at 58 enterprises. The first pharmaceutical enterprises appeared in Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Navoi and Khorezm regions.

Abdulla Azizov, director of the Agency for Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry, noted that Uzbekistan plans to invest almost US$2 billion in the pharmaceutical industry over the next three years.

He said that he is actively negotiating with investors who are interested in the Uzbek market, and urged them to consider opportunities not only in Uzbekistan, but also in Central Asia, the CIS and globally.

The volume of the pharmaceutical market in Uzbekistan is US$2.8 billion, Central Asia - US$10 billion, CIS - US$55 billion. The volume of foreign trade transactions in the pharmaceutical industry is US$2.5 billion, of which US$2.4 billion is import and US$130 million is export.

Azizov noted that 45 projects worth US$524 million are being implemented in five free economic zones of Uzbekistan. A pharmaceutical cluster is being created in the country, within which 12 projects worth US$746 million have already been implemented, and another 30 projects worth US$370 million are planned.

During the forum, industry meetings, round tables and meetings in B2B and B2G formats were held, at which regional and international development of the pharmaceutical industry, strategies, investment opportunities, localization of production, creation of joint ventures, standardization of medicines and improvement of product quality control were discussed.

At the event, agreements were concluded with the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies to develop the industry and expand investment opportunities in Uzbekistan.