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Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s economy grew by 5.3 % in 2022 driven by strong industrial and services growth. The medium-term outlook remains positive.  Since the start of liberalization reforms in 2017, Uzbekistan has done many significant steps towards reduction of trade and administrative barriers for international trade.

Since 2020 Uzbekistan restarted negotiation process of joining WTO. Since 2021 Uzbekistan joined GSP+ (European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences) which removes customs duties on export of 6.200 products to EU.

Uzbekistan provides business opportunities in many sectors: solar energy, agriculture, education, energy efficiency and cleantech, mining water supply and many others.

Uzbek economy is actively seeking for new technologies to make its economy modern and more effective. Finnish companies have products and solutions which might help Uzbekistan on this path and Finnish companies should take advantages of Uzbek market.

See Market Outlook Uzbekistan

Potential business opportunities in Uzbekistan include:

Solar energy
There are more than 300 sunny days in a year.

Agriculture
Agriculture is an important sector of Uzbekistan’s economy, accounting for approximately 25% of GDP and employing about 26% of the labor force. Cotton and grain are the country’s principal crops, but there is a shift to higher-value fruit and vegetable cultivation.

Education
Uzbekistan plans to increase the number of students attending university and to establish 30 new universities.

Energy efficiency
The World Bank has approved a credit to improving the energy efficiency of public buildings. The conditions for clean energy investments have also been improved.

Key figures

  • Capital: Tashkent (population 2.2 million)
  • Population: 35 million
  • Official language: uzbek
  • The President: Šavkat Mirzijojev
  • GDP: 80 billion dollars (Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan, 2022)
  • GDP growth: 5,3 % (2022/WB), and expected to be 5,0% in 2023 and 5,5% in 2024 (S&P)
  • Main export products: metals, textiles, gold
  • Main trade partners: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Korea
  • Finland’s export to Uzbekistan was 48,5 million dollars in 2022 (machinery, paper)
  • Uzbekistan has borders with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

 

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