TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 19 attended the opening ceremony of the Uzbek-South Korean business forum in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan and South Korea are long-term investment partners. Korean investments in the Uzbek economy exceed $7 billion. The Korean National Oil Company, Eximbank, many of the leading corporations of this country, including Kogas, Lotte Group, Samsung, Hyundai, and Shindong Resources, are actively engaged in priority investment projects in Uzbekistan, the press service of the Uzbek president reported.
The Uzbek leader said that negotiations with his Korean counterpart held earlier on the day placed special emphasis on supporting relations between the business people of the two countries, on developing medium and small businesses.
“The reforms and changes taking place in Uzbekistan today open up extensive opportunities for the confident realization of ambitious ideas and major projects. Last year, the number of joint ventures in our country grew threefold. They include 160 enterprises with Korean capital participation. We are ready to continue to create the most favorable conditions for expanding the presence of Korean business in Uzbekistan,” Mirziyoyev said.
The President of the Republic of Korea said that since ancient times, Uzbekistan has been a center of trade, science and culture, and that today there are wide opportunities for joint business projects. He conveyed the willingness of South Korea to support investment projects in Uzbekistan and share best practices.
The forum was attended by heads of economic and financial institutions, leading companies of the two countries, including more than 350 representatives of 150 corporations and organizations of South Korea.
At the business forum, important deals were reached and contracts worth over $12 billion were signed. They cover such areas and industries as energy, oil and gas, chemical, mining, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, transport and logistics, textile and light industry, infrastructure, ICT, and digital medicine. Of particular importance are agreements on the transfer of Uzbekistan’s Angren Free Economic Zone to the management of Korea’s Incheon Free Economic Zone, and on the establishment of the production of marketable drugs in the industrial zone Bustonlik Pharm in Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek President called on Korean businesses to actively cash in the new opportunities emerging in the Uzbek economy.
