The IV Tashkent International Investment Forum featured the Uzbekistan – Slovakia Business Forum, which served as a platform for deepening existing ties and exploring new areas of economic cooperation. The foreign delegation’s participation reaffirmed Slovakia’s strong interest in developing cooperation with Uzbekistan.
During the event, Shokhrukh Gulomov, the Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, highlighted the significant intensification of relations between the two countries in 2024. The bilateral trade volume reached 72.5 million euros, a 48.7 percent increase from 2023. Despite this, there is still untapped potential for further cooperation, as only nineteen Slovakian companies currently operate in Uzbekistan.
The guests expressed their interest in expanding their presence in the Uzbekistan market, particularly in the automotive, metallurgical, infrastructural, agricultural, food, and energy sectors. Slovakia is a major supplier of tires, auto parts, and metal products, and has initiated plans to import rice, fruits, and clothing from Uzbekistan. These efforts are expected to increase exports by 54.8 percent and reduce imports by 3.5 percent.
Uzbekistan remains an attractive destination for investment, innovation, and development in the region, and both parties expressed their commitment to deepening ties and implementing joint projects. Several agreements were signed, and promising areas of cooperation were discussed during B2B and G2B meetings.
At the end of the event, 15 projects in various industries such as mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemical, transport, construction materials, agriculture, energy, food, information technology, healthcare, and metallurgy were adopted. The event was captured by photographer Rustam Nazarmatov and documented by Bekhruz Khudoyberdiyev for UzA.