Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev used the plenary session of the Fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum to present foreign guests with a broad package of new initiatives aimed at attracting investment. The address was published by the presidential press service.
According to Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has drawn $123 billion in foreign investment into its economy over the past five years.
"We are always open to investors interested in working with Uzbekistan — those ready for an equal and mutually beneficial partnership," the president said.
He noted that in 2025, Uzbekistan's economy grew by 7.7%, total investment attracted reached $43 billion, and the country's international reserves surpassed $70 billion. Looking ahead, he projected that the country's rapidly expanding GDP would exceed $180 billion this year.
Among the flagship initiatives announced was the creation of a Tashkent International Financial Centre. Participants in the centre would benefit from zero-rate corporate tax, VAT, property tax, and customs duties — with those privileges guaranteed for 50 years.
"The centre will operate under special procedures and principles based on English law, and an independent Tashkent International Commercial Court will be established. Respected foreign judges and international experts will be brought in to serve on it," Mirziyoyev said.
He also announced that Uzbekistan intends to join the UN Singapore Convention on Mediation, further strengthening investor protection mechanisms.
The president touched on capital market development as well, noting that Uzbekistan has already issued more than $16 billion in bonds on international markets and conducted an IPO of the National Investment Fund on both the Tashkent and London stock exchanges.
Looking further ahead, the country plans to launch sovereign Islamic sukuk bonds — a move authorities believe could attract at least $10 billion in additional investment. As part of a broader privatisation drive, state assets, real estate, and land plots worth a combined $6 billion will be put up for auction this year.
Mirziyoyev also outlined plans to expand high-technology manufacturing and move toward deeper processing of raw materials. Uzbekistan's mineral resource base, he said, is estimated at $3 trillion, encompassing reserves of gold, copper, uranium, tungsten, natural gas, and a range of rare minerals.
"We will create an open digital geological database and increase the number of deposits put up for auction fourfold," the president said.
For full-cycle production projects, he announced the development of "Metals of the Future" technology parks in the Tashkent and Samarkand provinces.
"We also propose jointly implementing investment projects worth $30 billion in key driver industries — including mechanical engineering, robotics, light industry, construction materials, electrical engineering, and pharmaceuticals," Mirziyoyev said.
A substantial portion of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's address at the Tashkent International Investment Forum was devoted to green energy and artificial intelligence. He announced that the share of renewable sources in total electricity generation should reach 54% within the coming years.
"Alongside solar and wind power plants, we are putting forward proposals for investors to develop energy storage systems, modernize the electricity grid, and establish data centers powered by green energy," Mirziyoyev said.
He also highlighted the creation of a dedicated special zone in Karakalpakstan for artificial intelligence and data center projects. Investors operating within this zone will be exempt from all taxes and duties until 2040, with electricity supplied at a preferential rate of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
"Foreign experts project that over the next five years, this new field — AI development — will generate at least $10 billion in added value for Uzbekistan," the president noted.
Mirziyoyev also stressed the strategic importance of expanding transport corridors, singling out the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, the Trans-Afghan Corridor, and the Middle Corridor across the Caspian Sea as priorities.
On the domestic infrastructure front, he pointed to the construction of a new international airport for Tashkent, being developed in partnership with Saudi investors, with a capacity of up to 20 million passengers per year.
Looking to 2040, the president set out an ambitious urbanization agenda: raising the urbanization rate from 51% to 65%, doubling the volume of residential construction, and continuing the development of New Tashkent — a planned city designed to accommodate two million residents. The state is also ready to launch $27 billion worth of public-private partnership infrastructure projects, he said.
On tourism, Mirziyoyev made the case that Uzbekistan has the potential to welcome 15 to 20 million foreign visitors annually and generate at least $15 billion in tourism revenues. "We hope you will invest actively in the tourism sector — not only in such storied gems as Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, but in our other provinces as well," he urged.
The president also highlighted agricultural exports, noting that Uzbekistan already ships $3.5 billion worth of fruit and vegetables each year to more than 70 countries. He set a target of growing that figure to $10 billion by boosting yields and scaling up organic production.
Turning directly to the business leaders in attendance, Mirziyoyev extended a personal invitation: "The heads of all 14 of our provinces are here with us today. Please, travel with them to their provinces and see the opportunities being created there firsthand. Bring your experience, your technologies, and your capital to projects that benefit us all. Every provincial governor will offer you every form of assistance and support."
Closing his remarks, the president offered a pointed reframing of what investment means to Uzbekistan.
"For us, investment is not merely an economic resource — it is advanced technology, modern knowledge and expertise, new jobs, and development that keeps pace with the times," he said.
"To the foreign entrepreneurs who come to our land with genuine trust and bold ideas — the doors of New Uzbekistan are always wide open. I personally, as president, and our entire government, stand ready to walk alongside you, shoulder to shoulder," he concluded.
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