The decree comes on the heels of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visit to the UAE in mid-March and lists 21 investment projects in the Central Asian nation that had been offered to Dubai companies as a result.

According to the document, signed by Karimov, International Petroleum Investment Co. has tentatively agreed to build a US$1.1 billion synthetic fuels production facility at a gas processing plant in Uzbekistan.

The company would also conduct gas exploration worth US$200 million in the gas-rich western part of Uzbekistan, it said.

Mubadala Development Company would invest in an ammonia production plant worth about US$600 million on the basis of a big Uzbek fertiliser factory.

Other projects include construction of a business centre and other facilities in the capital Tashkent, as well as a cement plant, restoration of irrigation systems and others.

The total value of potential investments is more than US$3.5 billion, the decree said.