By: Trends Editorial Team
The results of the second Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF-2023) were summed up. It was attended by about 2.5 thousand representatives of the business, banking, and financial sector from 70 countries, including the USA, EU, Great Britain, Turkey, China, India, Egypt, CIS countries, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The first similar forum, held in March 2022, was attended by more than two thousand guests from 56 countries. If 105 documents totaling $7.8 billion were signed last year, this year 164 agreements and contracts worth $11 billion were signed.
These figures indicate the growing interest of foreign investors in cooperation with Uzbekistan. Important factors contribute to this, in modern conditions, complex, alarming and unpredictable processes are taking place in the international arena, which are becoming a serious test for the global economy, which forces investors to look for more reliable options for their investments.
As the President of Uzbekistan said in his speech at the forum, “I am convinced that in such conditions of growing contradictions, our meeting today will serve to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, open new business opportunities.”
Another important factor in the investors’ interest for a particular country is the state of the economy and prospects for its development. In the post-pandemic period, amid the turbulence of the world economy, Uzbekistan is steadily gaining economic growth. According to the analytical data of the Center for Economic Research and Reforms under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (CERR), at the beginning of 2023, the economy of Uzbekistan experienced a short-term decline due to the abnormal cold of January, which provoked an energy shortage crisis, and external geopolitical shocks that caused supply disruptions, but already in the first quarter the economy managed to reach the trajectory of a confident growth.
Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product increased by 5.5% in the first quarter of 2023. Inflation slowed down in the first three months to 2.4% (in January-March 2022 it amounted to 2.9%). The business activity index in March this year increased by 4.2% compared to the previous month, and by 11% compared to the same period last year. Current business assessments have improved significantly, being at the peak level of April-May 2021, and the share of negative assessments regarding the state of the business climate in the country has decreased by four percent. Since the beginning of the year, activity in the real estate market of Uzbekistan has increased by 2.7%.
The World Bank has recently raised its expectations for the economy of Uzbekistan to 5.3% and the IMF to 5.2%. CERR expects a more confident growth of the economy to 5.65% in the first half of the year. Thus, the economy of the republic and its development prospects look very attractive, which increases the interest of investors in our country.
Also Read: The Path to Building New Uzbekistan
