On March 14 this year, Urgench hosted the meeting where participants discussed such issues as actuation of investment operations in Khorezm region and development of effective tools to implement tasks set by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan during the current visit to the region.

The officials of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deputy khokim of Khorezm region, as well as khokims of regional districts and cities responsible for investment and foreign economic activity, senior bankers of commercial banks and heads of diplomatic missions of the Republic in Europe were involved to the discussion.

During the discussion, the issues were considered by ‘local authority - relevant ministry - diplomatic mission abroad’ group, which enabled dealing with existing problems in different interaction areas and development of targeted measures to attract investment to each individual region imposing personal responsibility to the heads of the involved departments.

Diplomatic missions abroad attached to districts and cities of regions will focus on attracting investors to specific suggested projects developed by the Center for Investment Project Development under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade with consideration to the industrial potential of the region and specific character of domestic and foreign markets. The Agency for Attraction of Foreign Investment under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade will also work hard towards the abovementioned issues.

The attendees also set the objective to step up the work to develop new investment proposals to create high-tech city-forming industrial facilities providing a full commodity and raw material chain and to locate them in regions with poor industries.

Participants also focused on the comprehensive social and economic development of the Khazarasp district in Khorezm region. The experts will thoroughly study opportunities to step up investment operations and increase export potential by involving the local population in business and boosting employment through establishment of export-oriented industrial facilities.

The commercial banks should play a stimulating role and their main task will be to search for new resources to implement promising projects and ensure financial support to representatives of the private sector.

The ultimate aim of the targeted measures will be to ensure social welfare of local population by involving them to large-scale cost-effective and socially significant projects, improving local infrastructure and creating new job places.

The discussion resulted in the development of kickoff plan and prompt measures to implement designated tasks and develop long-term systemic mechanisms of interagency cooperation for further effective work in defined areas.