Uzbekistan Considers Hosting Relocated Ukrainian Enterprises

Representatives of Uzbek and Ukrainian businesses have discussed the relocation of certain Ukrainian production enterprises to Uzbekistan. The meeting was held in Kyiv as part of a business council established in 2021.

Heads of state bodies and businessmen — including the founder of the korzinka.uz supermarket chain and co-founder of Newmax Technologies, Zafar Hashimov — participated in the meeting to offer their perspectives on Ukrainian-Uzbek economic ties. Since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022 the countries’ bilateral trade turnover has significantly decreased — in 2023 it amounted to $320 million, down from $747 million in 2021.

One of the issues discussed was the customs value of textile products exported from Uzbekistan to Ukraine. An important aspect of the discussion were proposals to transfer to Uzbekistan some Ukrainian production enterprises affected by military actions — as well as to expand cooperation in the creative economy.

Several Ukrainian investment projects are already being implemented in Uzbekistan. The pharmaceutical company Yuria-Pharm acquired the Reka-Myod enterprise in 2023. Another pharmaceutical company, Lekhim, entered the Uzbek market in 2021 and built a large production complex that opened in 2023.