In Riyadh, during a personal meeting, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S.Umurzakov discussed with Minister of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khalid al-Falih current state and prospects for expanding investment, trade and economic cooperation between the two states.

Currently, there are about 40 enterprises with Saudi capital operating in Uzbekistan. Projects with such leading Saudi companies as ACWA Power, Al-Habib Medical Group and others have been successfully implemented and are under implementation. At the same time, taking into account the significant untapped potential for the development of investment cooperation, the parties discussed the prospects for the implementation of new projects in such areas as chemical, metallurgical, mining and textile industries, as well as agricultural industry and agreed to work together to attract Uzbek and Saudi businesses to participate in these projects.

Further steps were discussed to increase the success of Saudi companies in the energy sector of Uzbekistan. The meeting participants analyzed the current state of the projects under implementation and exchanged proposals for their accelerated completion as well as commissioning of the generating capacities under construction.

Special attention was paid to projects aimed at ensuring food security. The parties agreed to form a separate investment portfolio in the field of agriculture and processing of agricultural products, providing for the introduction of innovative and water-saving technologies. Cooperation in the textile industry was also discussed.

Also during the conversation, the parties reviewed the implementation of the agreements reached during the 5th meeting of the Uzbek-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Science and Technology, Culture, Sports and Youth held in March this year in Tashkent and the 3rd meeting of the Uzbek-Saudi Business Council, and worked out a number of questions for more active promotion of agreed projects and initiatives.

In the context of further expansion of the Uzbek-Saudi investment partnership, the possibilities of the Economic Empowerment Fund, established in Uzbekistan in 2021 jointly with the Islamic Development Bank, as well as the potential of Saudi Fund for Development, which has already allocated about $200 million for the implementation of social and infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, were noted. The parties agreed to work out opportunities for the implementation of new projects involving the resources of the abovementioned financial institutions.

Following the meeting, further joint actions aimed at finding new points of intersection of mutual interests and expanding mutually beneficial investment cooperation between the two countries were determined.