Photo: Khusen Rustamov / Pexels
Businesses from Uzbekistan and the US have signed 54 agreements involving plans to deploy $12 billion (trend.az). In Uzbekistan, which borders Kazakhstan, the agreements cover transport, mining, finance and digital technology. The announced amount covers the entire package: the money has yet to be deployed.
What happened
The agreements were signed following a meeting of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council in Samarkand. Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade announced the results through its press office. The business events took place during a visit by a US delegation.
The package brings together trade, investment and technology agreements. Areas covered include upgrades to industry, transport and energy infrastructure. Individual projects focus on the financial sector, agriculture, healthcare and education.
Aircraft engines and local production of railway equipment
Cooperation with GE Aerospace includes the supply of engines for new Uzbekistan Airways aircraft.
Projects with Wabtec involve establishing production of railway equipment and components in Uzbekistan. The ministry expects the partnership to accelerate the sector’s modernisation and help develop local manufacturing skills and technology.
Access to capital and development of mineral deposits
Franklin Templeton, Oppenheimer & Co., Citigroup and BlackRock are named in the financial part of the package. Agreements with them aim to improve Uzbek companies’ access to international capital markets. This should give companies more opportunities to raise funds.
Another stated goal is to attract institutional investors. The ministry sees this funding as a way to expand opportunities for infrastructure projects.
In mining, agreements were signed with ReElement Technologies, Traxys and Trafigura. They cover the development of new deposits, technological cooperation and arrangements for supplying mineral raw materials.
The ministry identified developing Uzbekistan’s own expertise and technology in critical minerals as a priority. This goal was set out when agreements were signed with partners involved in mining and raw material supplies.
Satellite communications, healthcare and agriculture
Amazon Leo, GE HealthCare and Valmont Industries are among the companies named in digital and social projects. The agreements cover the development of satellite communications, the introduction of medical technologies and improvements in agricultural efficiency.
The ministry links the package to efforts to bring international capital and advanced technology into the country’s industry. The practical outcome will depend on the implementation of the signed agreements.
“The next key task will be to steadily implement the agreements reached and turn them into concrete results,” the ministry’s press office stressed.
