(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Trend
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met
with the heads of leading companies and financial structures of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah, Trend reports citing UZDAILY .
The event was attended by the Minister of Investment Khalid
Al-Falih, as well as heads of about 20 largest companies and
corporations of Saudi Arabia, such as ACWA Power, SABIC, Saudi
National Bank, Al Rajhi Capital, Ma'aden, Petromin, Jamjoom Pharma,
SEDCO, Salic, Albawani, Ajlan & Bros, Desert Technologies, and
others.
Meetings with business community representatives during the
foreign visits of the President of Uzbekistan are traditional. They
allow determining the points of contact of interests, prospects for
industrial and investment cooperation.
Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia have a huge potential to bring
relations to a qualitatively new level, primarily in trade-economic
sphere. In recent years, meetings of the Intergovernmental
Commission and the Business Council have been held regularly. The
trade turnover is growing. Joint ventures are being created.
The President noted that during the talks held yesterday with
the Crown Prince, agreements were reached on a multiple increase in
the volume of bilateral trade, full support for the initiatives of
businesspeople and financing of investment projects.
All this creates great opportunities for business partnerships.
In particular, Uzbekistan creates the most favorable conditions for
entrepreneurs, expanding the presence of foreign capital.
The experience of several Saudi companies that have been
successfully operating in Uzbekistan for several years was noted.
So, at present, large energy projects worth US$2 billion 600
million are being implemented together with ACWA Power.
The participants' attention was drawn to the unprecedented
results of the Uzbekistan – Saudi Arabia Business Council held on
the eve of the visit. Following the event, agreements on the
implementation of projects worth more than US$14 billion were
signed.
It was emphasized that there have been no breakthrough
agreements in 30 years, and work on creating better conditions for
Saudi partners will continue.
The President of Uzbekistan called on Saudi companies to work
even more closely to develop and implement new projects.
At the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev revealed his vision
for further building bilateral cooperation. Thus, Saudi business is
invited to participate in the privatization processes of large
banks, industrial and infrastructure facilities held in Uzbekistan.
The sphere of green energy and the green economy was named one of
the most promising for the implementation of joint projects.
The Uzbek side, as noted, is ready for active joint work on the
construction of wind farms, the production of green hydrogen, the
development of alternative energy, deepening the digitalization of
industry and conducting joint scientific research.
The Leader of the country stressed Uzbekistan's interest in
enhancing partnerships in the digital economy, bio- and
nanotechnology, software, innovation and artificial
intelligence.
It was proposed to pay special attention to the implementation
of projects for the production of food products, in healthcare and
tourism.
With the participation of the Saudi Fund for Development, it is
also planned to continue work on improving infrastructure projects
in water and electricity supply.
Responding to the invitation to cooperate, the heads of
companies, holdings and corporations of Saudi Arabia highly
appreciated the conditions created in Uzbekistan for active
business. In their speeches, they shared plans for implementing
joint projects in the country, their vision of prospects for
developing contacts and interaction in a wide range of areas.
Having carefully listened to the proposals and opinions of Saudi
partners, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that strict control
will be established over the implementation of all projects.
Responsible persons were instructed to adopt a comprehensive
Action Plan indicating effective mechanisms and specific deadlines
for implementation. Thus, in certain areas, the heads of relevant
ministries and agencies will be personally responsible for the
implementation of all agreements reached during the visit.
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