Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S.Umurzakov met with a delegation of the United States led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.

The negotiations covered a broad agenda of political and economic partnership between the two countries. It was noted that tangible progress has been made in recent years in all areas of bilateral and regional cooperation without exception, the foundation of which was laid during the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United States in May 2018.

It was stressed that trade turnover between the two countries for
11 months of 2021 increased to 48.5% more as compared to the same period of 2020. In addition, the number of enterprises with American capital in Uzbekistan has increased twofold over the past few years.

The sides expressed interest in attracting US investors and large companies to implement joint projects in Uzbekistan. The sides expressed readiness to hold a business forum for representatives of the American and Uzbek business communities in the first half of 2022 together with the American-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce (AUCC).

The meeting identified the most promising areas for further expansion of the bilateral economic partnership, including the mining industry, chemical industry, agriculture and textile industry and other areas.

The sides considered opportunities for extension of cooperation between U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Private Equity Fund of Uzbekistan to develop mechanisms for joint implementation of investment projects in Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek side welcomed the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative and expressed readiness to cooperate under this initiative to implement promising joint projects in four key areas: development of renewable energy, digitalization, health and promotion of gender equality.

Appreciation was expressed for the technical and advisory assistance rendered to Uzbekistan in the issue of the country's accession to the World Trade Organization. During the conversation, the prospects for implementing a project of technical support on digitalization of investment policy and public services were considered.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their commitment to an active dialogue on all of the issues discussed in order to accelerate the advancement of the agreed programs and initiatives.