In continuation of the program in the city of Paris, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with the representatives of the leading business circles of France.
The leader of our country has already met with the French business during official visits to this country in 2018 and 2022, as well as at the Samarkand summit in 2023.
This forum has become a sequel to this open and constructive dialogue. A distinctive feature was the participation of leaders and representatives of private sector companies in Uzbekistan.
The event was attended by Minister-Delegate of France for Foreign Trade and French Citizens Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin, Director General of the French Development Agency Remy Rioux, Head of MEDEF International – Chairman of the Board of Orano Mining Claude Imauven, as well as over 60 executives and representatives of leading companies, investment and financial institutions of the two countries.
French business was represented by such companies as SUEZ, Veolia, Total, EDF, Voltalia, Orano, Meridiam, Saint-Gobain, Imerys, Natixis, Société Générale, BPI France, Airbus, MND, Eiffage, Schneider Electric, Total Energies, Alstom, Technip Energies, Egis, ADP Group, Ellipse Projects, Assystem, ATR and others.
In his speech, the Head of our state highly appreciated the fruitful negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron, in the course of which special attention was paid to the support of business initiatives and implementation of joint cooperation projects.
The main outcome of the meeting was the historic decision to elevate Uzbek-French relations to the level of strategic partnership.
The role of leading companies of the two countries was noted as locomotives in expanding multifaceted cooperation.
Gratitude was expressed to the representatives of French business circles for supporting the strategy of irreversible economic reforms in New Uzbekistan.
High appreciation was given to the fruitful results of the visit of heads of major companies, which are members of MEDEF, to the city of Tashkent in January this year.
Implementation of a number of joint projects with French companies in strategic sectors of our country’s economy has been noted with satisfaction.
Interest has been expressed in active attraction of French investments and introduction of advanced technologies, application of design solutions, vast accumulated experience and knowledge of enterprises of this country.
The President of Uzbekistan has spoken in favor of further boosting trade and economic ties with France.
The Program of Innovative and Industrial Cooperation until 2027 with French companies, which includes specific areas and projects worth 6.5 billion euros, is designed to facilitate this.
It is envisaged that within the framework of its implementation effective instruments of financial support for business initiatives will be widely implemented with the active involvement of leading French banks and financial organizations.
The Head of our state outlined a number of prospective areas for further development of Uzbek-French business cooperation, such as developing promising deposits and deep processing of critical mineral resources, creating modern production sites in the construction materials sector, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, electrical industry and agriculture.
The expansion of generating capacities in the energy sector and energy storage systems, modernization of water, municipal, tourist and transport infrastructure in the regions of Uzbekistan have great potential for cooperation.
– To support and accelerate projects with the participation of companies of the two countries, I propose to establish a permanent Uzbek-French Investment Council. From our side, it will be headed by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. We can hold the first meeting in June within the framework of the Tashkent International Investment Forum. I invite all of you to take an active part in the upcoming event as full members of the council, – said the President.
In turn, representatives of French business voiced their concrete proposals and plans to expand the partnership.
Wishing the representatives of business circles success, the Head of our state instructed the leaders of relevant ministries and agencies to ensure control over the fulfillment of the agreements reached, based on “road maps” approved by the Government of Uzbekistan.