Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S.Umurzakov met with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE, in Abu Dhabi on December 7 this year.

During the meeting, the current state and prospects for deepening bilateral cooperation in investment, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas were discussed.

The implementation status of the agreements reached during the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UAE in March 2019 was reviewed. The existing issues and mechanisms for further interaction to solve the tasks were considered.

While discussing investment cooperation issues, the sides noted the high increase dynamics of the volume of Emirati investments attracted to the economy of Uzbekistan and the success of the Emirati companies in implementing projects. In particular, in August this year Masdar commissioned the Uzbekistan's first solar power plant and won tenders to build three new solar power plants: 457 MW Sherabad PVPP, 220 MW Samarkand PVPP, and 220 MW Jizzakh PVPP. The total portfolio of Masdar projects in Uzbekistan at the moment is more than $2 billion, the total generating capacity of the power plants under construction comprises 2.5 GW.

Also, successful cooperation with Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was separately noted: the program to support small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbekistan and projects in the field of education are being successfully implemented. A joint investment company set up with the Fund has been operating actively: major tourism projects are underway, as well as a portfolio of 14 promising investment projects totaling $500 million is being elaborated.

During the dialogue, priority areas for further expansion of investment cooperation were identified, including energy, agriculture, financial sector, infrastructure development and healthcare.

Following the meeting, the sides expressed commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations, diversifying trade and investment cooperation and attracting new investors to implement projects in Uzbekistan from among the leading companies of the UAE, which will allow to fully use the existing potential of economic partnership between the two countries.