Panel session on "Prospects for deepening economic cooperation of the  CIS countries" has been held as part of the second Tashkent International Investment Forum.

Economic cooperation between the CIS countries has great potential. Still, in order to reveal it, it is necessary to intensify work on developing transport infrastructure, increasing mutual trade and investment, reducing trade barriers and exchanging experiences and technologies. How can the full economic potential of the region be exploited? What measures should countries take to simplify trade procedures? Increase mutual investments? These and other questions were discussed in a panel session.

Speakers included Jamshid Khodjaev - Deputy Minister of Investments, Industry and Foreign Trade  of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Maksim Reshetnikov - Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Rovnag Abdullayev - Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and others.

Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Minister of Investments, Industry and Foreign Trade  of the Republic of Uzbekistan, noted that the CIS market, which represents about 4% of the world's population, about 285 million people, is of interest to foreign investors. Last year, the foreign trade turnover grew by 20%, and the market continues to expand and diversify.

He also highlighted the importance of infrastructure cooperation, including trunk routes and railways. "Large infrastructure projects can be expensive but have the most potential," he added.

In the field of energy, he emphasized the complementarity of the CIS countries, where some of them produce oil and gas, and others have renewable energy capabilities. He expressed the hope that cooperation between the countries in this field would bring huge results. The projects of two hydroelectric power plants in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have already been finalized.

The possibility of industrial cooperation has also been noted, especially concerning each country's capital and energy resources. For example, Uzbekistan is working on a joint project with Kazakhstan on growing and processing cotton.

Khodjaev also emphasized that collaboration between the countries could help achieve food security and alleviate some countries' food shortages. He noted that it is the task of the government to help develop cooperation in various areas, including automobile manufacturing and others.

Maksim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, also spoke during the session.

- Uzbekistan is one of the key drivers of development in Central Asia. More than 3,000 companies with Russian capital are working here. In addition, I believe that tourism is a point of growth that will strengthen CIS relations. Further integration can give an incentive to Uzbekistan's development.

Rovnag Abdullayev, deputy economy minister, shared Azerbaijan's experience in attracting investments.

- Foreign direct investment is an important mechanism to ensure economic security. Business is good, but it is impossible to achieve really good results without foreign investors. By the example of Azerbaijan, I can say that we have created a regulatory framework favorable to attract investors, including tax and customs concessions. It is important to create an image of the country to attract investors. Also, we are mastering new areas of foreign direct investment. We are now actively working to restore economic ties and expand transport routes. Of course, we do all these measures not alone, but with companies from the CIS countries," Rovnag Abdullayev said.

Umbriel Temiraliev, Director of the National Investment Agency under the President of Kyrgyzstan, spoke about the country's priorities in attracting investment. He pointed out three main sectors directly linked to investment: energy (emissions need to be reduced by 50%), tourism (the Kyrgyz landscape will offer excellent conditions), and food production. Investment projects for potential investors were also proposed.