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UK to invest 1.25 billion pounds in Uzbek oil and gas projects

19 April 2018 16:18 (UTC+04:00)
UK to invest 1.25 billion pounds in Uzbek oil and gas projects

By Kamila Aliyeva

The UK will finance investment projects at 1.25 billion pounds in the oil and gas sector of Uzbekistan.

To this end, a memorandum between the Foundation for Reconstruction and Development of the Republic and United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) was signed in the framework of the first British-Uzbek energy forum entitled “Investment Potential of the Uzbek Oil and Gas Industry” in London on April 18.

The business program of the two-day forum included two plenary sessions, meetings in B2B format, as well as presentations of participating companies. Issues of further development and introduction of non-traditional and renewable energy sources have also been considered.

The main goal was to discuss the organization of financing investment projects in the oil and gas industry of Uzbekistan, to attract modern technologies to their implementation with the participation of international consultants.

The forum, organized by the State Committee for Investments and Uzbekneftegas with the support of the Uzbek Embassy in Britain, was attended by the British Minister for Trade and Export Promotion, Baroness Rona Fairhead, as well as representatives of international financial institutions, commercial banks, oil and gas and economic sectors of Great Britain and European countries.

The parties agreed to hold the forum on a regular basis, not only in London, but also in Uzbekistan, with the invitation of British and European companies. In the long term, this event should turn into a platform that provides a unique opportunity to expand business contacts, search for new mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as hold various kinds of bilateral discussions between experts in the financial, oil and gas and economic sectors.

Uzbek-British trade and economic relations are developing dynamically, and boosting bilateral business ties is a priority for both countries. The UK is considered to be one of the leading trading and investment partners of Uzbekistan. UK companies are identified as having strong expertise in energy, education, finance, legal and other relevant sectors, and will find excellent partners to implement current and planned projects in Uzbekistan. This event is aimed at providing British companies with the opportunity to enter the Uzbek market at an early stage and support them to take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up in the country.

A number of projects have been implemented in cooperation with British investments in the spheres of exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons and polymetallic ores, tobacco and pharmaceutical industry, etc.

Currently, 567 companies with British capital are operating in diverse sectors of Uzbek economy. More than 162 companies with 100 percent British capital were registered in Uzbekistan.

The fields of activity of enterprises, established with participation of the British capital, include mining, manufacture of food and drinks, tobacco products, building materials, produce of light industry, services in telecommunications, processing of agricultural production, rendering of leasing, consulting, insurance services.

There are 118 investment projects to be implemented in Uzbekistan in 2017-2019, and British companies are welcomed to participate in their implementation. Importantly, UK Export Finance has capacity to support British exports into Uzbekistan and all its products and services are available for both exporters and Uzbek buyers.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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