Uzbekistan is presented to Spanish companies as a gateway to Central Asia

Conference 'Spain – Uzbekistan: Business and Investment Opportunities'

ACIR Southern Europe, Madrid Business Forum, the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the Kingdom of Spain, and Ibercaja have organized the first practical day of 2023 aimed at companies and investors interested in the Uzbekistan market.

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In the hybrid session (which could be followed both in person at the Invest in Madrid headquarters and by videoconference) the opportunities and facilities offered by Uzbekistan were presented, the largest market in central Asia, with 35,4 million inhabitants, for foreign companies and investors. 

 

The day was opened by the president of Madrid Business Forum, Hilario Alfaro, and the coordinator of the Single Window for Internationalization, Jacobo Pérez-Soba Aguilar, who referred to the need for Madrid and Spanish companies to commit to geographically diversifying their exports and increasing their export regularity. 

 

Later, the ambassador of Uzbekistan in Spain, Jakhongir Goniev, intervened, considering Spain “one of the most important partners of Uzbekistan on the European continent”. Goniev pointed out that it is necessary to work “to expand the nomenclature of goods in bilateral trade” and so that many of these commercial relations stop being done through intermediaries. “We must make joint efforts to establish direct contacts,” he said. 

 

The Uzbek ambassador reviewed the potential of his country that may be of interest to Spanish companies, with opportunities in energy, food, chemistry, tourism or infrastructure, among other sectors. He highlighted his important natural resources (Uzbekistan is among the top 20 countries with reserves of gold, uranium and copper, and also has important deposits of natural gas, silver, zinc, and other metals). Goniev recalled that thanks to the implementation of an important reform program In 2017, the Uzbek economy has diversified and the number of companies with foreign capital has tripled (currently more than 11.500 companies).

 

At the meeting, the honorary consuls of Uzbekistan in Barcelona (Pere Vicens Rahola) and Valencia (José María Chiquillo) were also given a voice. The first highlighted the investment opportunities in the tourism industry (mainly in the Samarkand region), while the second explained the reasons that may lead a company from Spain to invest in this Asian country: “It is a country that is growing and has economic and political stability; “It is a reliable, stable and benchmark country in Central Asia”. In this regard, the honorary consul in Valencia insisted on the legal security that the country offers, recalling that it has been 20 years since the signing of the agreement for the promotion and protection of investments between Spain and Uzbekistan.

 

José María Chiquillo expanded business opportunities to the auxiliary industry of agriculture, the railway (where there are already examples of success such as Talgo on the Samarkand-Tashkent line), renewable energies, mining, health and the sector. pharmaceutical, textile, construction, cosmetics, and above all, lto energy, gas and water. 

 

ACIR services and projects

 

Finally, Miguel de la Cruz, director of the ACIR office in Tashkent and Eduard Gulian, CEO of ACIR, presented the services that this entity offers to Spanish companies. ACIR Southern Europe, the Eurasian Trade Alliance, is an organization dedicated to the development of commercial, economic and industrial relations between the countries of Southern Europe and the countries of Central Asia. It does so through its own ecosystem that includes a Project Office, an business club, and promotional and representation activities, and seven offices in both regions.

 

ACIR is currently involved in 28 projects with different levels of development: water purification and treatment, mobile clinics, laboratories for certification, food and wine tourism, bulk wine production, medical consulting, functional food, greenhouses and technologies, construction materials, “FIESTA” consortium, and fish farms and technology for traceability in fishing. 

 

The director of ACIR explained that, although at the ministerial level, Uzbekistan does not present a problem - "we have good communication, there are reforms," ​​he assured - another thing is at the business level, with problems related to the low quality of the projects, business plans. weak and poor planning, as well as a very long visa granting process. Some problems that they solve from their organization. “We have our services to compensate and avoid these problems”said Eduard Gulian. 

 

The session closed with the intervention of several representatives of Spanish companies that either already do business with the Asian country or intend to start doing so.