(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5. Uzbekistan is
focused on further developing its already efficient railway system,
and Spain is actively collaborating in this endeavor, General
Director for International Trade and investment of Spain's Ministry
of Economy, Trade, and Business Alicia Varela told Trend
in an exclusive interview.
“In the realm of bilateral relations, a Framework Agreement for
Financial Cooperation between Spain and Uzbekistan was signed
during the 2023 Intergovernmental Commission, which envisages
finance by the Spanish FIEM fund amounting to 250 million euros.
High-level negotiations have taken place to assess the possibility
of using part of these funds for transport projects, leaving it to
the Uzbek authorities to make a final decision,” she said.
Alicia Varela noted that Spain, at the institutional and
business level, has been working intensively in Central Asia,
specifically in Uzbekistan, for more than a decade. In this
context, the first Joint Commission in the economic and commercial
sphere was held in Tashkent from March 1 through March 3, 2023.
Spain expects to hold the second edition in 2025 in Madrid.
According to her, the Joint Commission is an extraordinary
instrument to promote agreements and to find areas of cooperation
at the bilateral level in multiple sectors that help increase trade
and investment. This is achieved through an intense agenda of
meetings at the highest interministerial level. In addition, a
business meeting is consistently organized at the same time,
featuring representatives from both companies currently operating
in Uzbekistan and those interested in developing a market entry.
This is also an appropriate framework for Spanish firms to learn in
detail about the country's short- and medium-term strategy for
opening up and developing the country, and specifically, for
analyzing national and regional projects in which Spanish companies
with proven experience can participate and generate a knock-on
effect for other companies wishing to enter Uzbekistan.
“If we look at Spain's import data from Uzbekistan, the fur and
leather sector ranked third in 2023, which implies that there is
demand for this sector in our country. In this regard, our Ministry
has a wide range of instruments to boost Spain's trade and
investment with other countries. Firstly, ICEX España Exportación e
Inversiones (Spain's Export and Investment Agency) is our agency
when it comes to organizing direct and inverse trade missions,
industry days, pavilions at trade and investment fairs, and forums
in all sectors. We have a wide range of possibilities to open new
alliances,” the representative of the ministry said.
She emphasized that the fashion and leather sector features
several internationally renowned trade fairs that take place
annually in Spain, such as FUTURMODA in Alicante, which occurred on
October 16, 2024, and MOMAD in Madrid, scheduled for February 2025.
Uzbek companies interested in entering the Spanish market should
consider participating in these events.
“Secondly, we also offer a wide range of financial instruments
to support Spanish companies in their internationalization process.
The Corporate Internationalization Fund (FIEM) is a public
initiative managed by the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade,
designed to promote the presence of Spanish companies and products
abroad. Through FIEM, we can facilitate exports from Spanish
companies, including machinery for the industry. Additionally, we
assist clients in modernizing their production systems, which will
lead to an increase in exports from the client country-in this
case, from Uzbekistan to other partners,” Alicia Varela noted.
The representative from the ministry emphasized that the
excellent relationship and exchange of information between the
economic and trade offices of both countries is also of paramount
importance. On the multilateral arena, Spain is an active member
and contributor to several multilateral institutions that
participate in the development of the financing of infrastructure
projects in Uzbekistan, such as the Asian Development Bank, the
World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“Spain welcomes the Uzbekistan ́s bid for decarbonization and
modernization of its energy sector: reaching 40 percent renewables
in the energy mix by 2030 is a great challenge, and Spain is ready
to support Uzbekistan with its great institutional and corporate
expertise in the field of renewable energies. Spanish companies are
leading the development of renewable energies in all areas (wind,
solar, hydroelectric). An example of the interest of Spanish
companies in this sector in Uzbekistan is the project for the
construction of a 100 MW wind power plant, but other projects are
in discussion nowadays. We plan to increase trade promotion
activity in sectors with the greatest growth potential, including
agribusiness, water management, energy, mining, tile and
construction materials, and medical services,” she added.
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