This was the conclusion reached by the participants of the panel session "E-Commerce: New Prospects and Opportunities", held within the framework of the Tashkent International Investment Forum.

At the event, participants discuss new trends and changes in e-commerce. In particular, it is noted that today e-commerce is developing at a very rapid pace. And it is important for market participants to understand the direction in which strategies and business priorities are changing on the online commerce platform.

Speakers at the session were Marco Forgione, General Director of Export and International Trade Institute; Kevin Khanda, Technical Director of Uzum Market; Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Irina Kamkhadze, Sales and New Business Development Consultant of OpenWay Group; Michael Khoi, CEO and Founder of ZoodPay and ZoodMall; Diana Ryan, Leading Specialist on Government Relations and Public Policy - EAEC/EU, HP. The session was moderated by Elena Son, Executive Director of the American-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce.

In his speech, the Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan Sherzod Shermatov noted that e-commerce in Uzbekistan is developing rapidly. However, despite this, there are still some difficulties associated with the fact that many Uzbeks still find it difficult to switch from traditional trade to online.

However, digitalization is accelerating in Uzbekistan, which is having a positive impact on e-commerce development in Uzbekistan. In particular, E-Com volumes last year were $300m. This figure is planned to increase.

For his part, Marco Forgione, director general of the Export and International Trade Institute, said that E-Com has huge opportunities. And Uzbekistan has great potential to become a regional leader in this direction.

Kevin Khanda - technical director of Uzum Market also shared experience of e-commerce development in Uzbekistan. In particular, he noted that growing demand on the Uzum Market platform indicates that more and more people are interested in e-commerce.

Also, the speakers noted that people in Uzbekistan have yet to change their mindset, as they still prefer traditional trade. But in any case, the future belongs to e-commerce. It is noteworthy that today Uzbekistan is making huge leaps in the development of this direction.