Doha: The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) received a delegation from the Republic of Uzbekistan headed by H E Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, yesterday.

The delegation also included about 20 officials, including the Deputy Minister of Health, the Deputy Minister of Transportation, and a number of governorate deputies and government institutions.

The delegation was received by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, the meeting was also attended by QBA Board member Sheikh Nawaf bin NasserAl Thani, and QBA Members Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Thani, Salah Al Jaidah, Abdul Salam Issa Abu Issa. Maqbool Habib Khalfan, Yousef Al Mahmoud, and Muhammad Altaf along with Sarah Abdallah, QBA Deputy GM.

At the beginning of the meeting, QBA Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, stated that since the visit of H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani last year to Uzbekistan, which was an important step towards establishing a new phase of joint economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, joint work and coordination has increased between Doha and Tashkent to encourage the private sector on both sides to launch investment projects, which contributes to increasing the volume of trade exchange and supports bilateral relations.

Sheikh Faisal said that QBA encourages Qatari businessmen to explore the investment climate in Uzbekistan and invest in potential opportunities, especially in the sectors of agriculture, mining, energy, and others.

There are Qatari investment projects in Uzbekistan, including Nebras Energy Company projects, an investment project by Barzan Company, and there are 6 Uzbek companies operating in the Qatari market with joint capital.

For his part, the Uzbek Minister of Investment praised the distinguished relations between his country and Qatar and their keenness to strengthen these ties in various fields, stressing out the need to intensify the Qatari-Uzbek business forums in Tashkent and Doha, to present investment opportunities and discuss the different means to increase trade cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, Kudratov reviewed the investment climate in Uzbekistan and the positive developments that the Uzbek economy has witnessed in recent years, pointing out that many major companies from various countries of the world have begun to come to Uzbekistan and invest in various sectors, with direct investments reaching about $22.4bn in 2023.

The Minister also reviewed his country’s vision for the year 2030, which aims to attract about $250bn in foreign direct investments, as the economy is witnessing significant growth rates of 7 percent, stressing the need to exploit the proportion of youth and the workforce trained in various fields, which represents about 88 percent of those under the age of 55.

He also stressed the attractive incentives that Tashkent offers to foreign investors, including tax exemption in free zones, in addition to a free market of 300 million people in neighboring countries, calling on Qatari companies to invest in his country and export products to the Gulf market with complete freedom, in addition to nearby neighboring markets since Uzbekistan is located in the heart of Central Asia.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to have a delegation of Qatari businessmen to visit Tashkent to explore investment opportunities in the different sectors that were discussed.

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