Relations between Uzbekistan and the United States have reached their “highest level” in the history of bilateral cooperation, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the second meeting of the US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council in Samarkand on 19 October. He highlighted the role of US president Donald Trump in developing ties.
“We have established a strong political partnership. It is now important to expand our economic ties as well,” the president said.
He noted that hundreds of companies with US capital operate in Uzbekistan, while Uzbek companies are beginning to invest in the US economy. “We want companies from both countries to establish more joint ventures, exchange technologies and enter new markets together,” Mirziyoyev said.
“We need to create clear and predictable conditions for American investors”
The president identified critical minerals, energy, digital technologies and artificial intelligence as promising areas for cooperation.
“Uzbekistan has substantial natural resources and is ready to become a reliable partner of the United States in this field. It is important for us to develop the entire production cycle, from developing deposits and advanced processing of raw materials to manufacturing finished high-technology products,” he said.
“Our rapidly growing economy needs a modern and reliable energy system. We invite American companies to participate in its modernization, introduce new technologies and develop renewable energy and energy storage systems,” he added.
The president proposed taking the two countries' partnership in digital technologies and artificial intelligence to a “new level”.
“We see considerable opportunities for cooperation in establishing data centers and applying the most effective digital solutions in industry, agriculture, education and public administration,” he said.
Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan and the United States had put together a package of 54 agreements and initiatives worth around $12 billion as part of the meeting. To implement these projects, he proposed developing an action plan focused on three priorities.
“First, we need to create clear and predictable conditions for American investors. Every company coming to Uzbekistan with serious intentions should know who to contact and a way to obtain their assistance it needs,” Mirziyoyev said.
He said Uzbekistan intended to adopt a new model for working with foreign investors based on the “Plant and Play” principle.
“We offer modern investment opportunities. We offer fully prepared projects with ready-to-use sites, infrastructure connections and all necessary permits and documentation,” the president said, adding that Uzbek entrepreneurs were ready to act as partners and share investment risks.
A direct investment fund has been established to support participation in such projects.
“Our task is to ensure that an American investor arriving in Uzbekistan can begin doing business immediately without spending time on administrative procedures,” the president said.
The second area, according to Mirziyoyev, should focus on moving from individual projects to broad industrial partnerships, establishing joint clusters and research centers and integrating companies from both countries into global value chains.
As the third area, the president proposed turning the council into a “strategic mechanism for a long-term economic partnership” between the two countries.
“I propose developing a joint program for trade, investment and technological cooperation for the period through 2035. This program will align the interests of major companies with the strategic priorities of our countries,” he said.
“The national interests of the US and Uzbekistan align”
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who visited Samarkand with a large business delegation, said Washington viewed relations with Central Asia as a priority and wanted to strengthen its partnership with both the region as a whole and Uzbekistan in particular.
“Let there be no doubt that the United States wants to be a partner of this region and wants to be a partner of this country. We already are, and we intend to build that and grow it,” Rubio said.
He said the US had long focused on problem regions, countries or issues, overlooking new opportunities.
“One of the regions of the world we should have been involved in sooner and in a bigger way is Central Asia, and in particular Uzbekistan,” the secretary of state said.
He stated that Trump had made developing relations with Central Asia one of the US priorities. Rubio also described the invitation extended to several Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, to attend the G20 summit in Miami, US, as observers at the end of the year as an important step.
The secretary of state linked the development of bilateral relations to Uzbekistan’s reforms in recent years.
“You have opened up your country to the world, and more importantly, you have embraced the United States and president Trump as partners. And as a result, you’ve given not just to your country but the region — your neighbors — as well as the United States, an enormous opportunity to grow together,” he said, addressing Mirziyoyev.
Rubio also expressed his appreciation to the co-chairs of the US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council: head of the Presidential Administration of Uzbekistan Saida Mirziyoyeva and the US president’s special envoy Sergio Gor.
“We just call her Saida because we see her in so many different places, and she’s so talented and so smart and works so hard,” he said.
Rubio stressed that cooperation was based on the alignment of the two countries' national interests.
“When your national interests and our national interests are aligned — and they are, in so many areas — when what’s good for America is also good for you and vice versa, that is the foundation of these partnerships and these opportunities that we are pursuing. And that’s what this is all about, and that’s what we’re doing now as regards to this,” he said.
According to the secretary of state, Central Asia’s geographical location offers additional opportunities.
“Uzbekistan, and Central Asia more broadly, have always been the center of commerce and transit between the East and the West. It has literally been the bridge between East and West when it came to trade and commerce. It has been true for centuries. And geography has not changed. It remains more true today than ever before,” Rubio said.
He noted the growth of passenger and freight transport in Uzbekistan, as well as the country’s potential in technology and infrastructure. Rubio cited Uzbekistan’s central location for trade, its large working-age population and its natural resources among the factors that make the country attractive to American businesses.
Rubio added that the US and Uzbekistan could also develop cooperation in energy, robotics, fintech, mining and agriculture.
“I'm extremely optimistic about the future of business and growth in Central Asia. We are doing our part to lay the regulatory and commercial foundation upon which your businesses will power and grow,” the secretary of state said, addressing the meeting’s participants.
“Business moves where rules are clear”
Head of Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva said the US-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council would serve as a working mechanism for resolving business problems.
“We promise your side a working mechanism, not a committee. In June, almost 200 American companies came to Tashkent — a record. Four months later, another hundred US companies came with the secretary. Records in this partnership do not last long, and we like it that way,” she said.
Mirziyoyeva noted that clear rules and openness were essential for business development.
“Business moves where rules are clear, doors are open and someone picks up the phone,” she said.
“When business asked, we changed the rules, and now the trade runs both ways. Uzbek investment is creating jobs in America, and what we buy from America keeps American factories busy. That is how a partnership stays honest. Both sides have to win,” the head of the Presidential Administration said.
“And so tonight, a simple promise: Every company here will have a name to call, and any problem you raise will reach the co-chairs personally,” Mirziyoyeva added.
The head of the Presidential Administration also backed the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which the US secretary of state called a “relic of the Cold War”.
“We agree and we would be happy to see it retire. When it does, this council will be ready the next morning,” she said.
In closing, Mirziyoyeva urged businesses to move from discussing potential to taking concrete action. “Bring us a project or bring us a problem. Both are welcome,” she said.