Photo: tiif.online
Akramjon Nematov - Kamila Sobirova
22/07/2025 21:56
The forum resulted in signed agreements worth $30.5 billion – a 15% increase from 2024 ($26.6 billion) and nearly four times the value of deals secured at the inaugural forum in 2022 ($7.8 billion).
The planned opening of a European Investment Bank office in Tashkent, together with credit rating upgrades to "positive" outlooks by Moody's and S&P, demonstrates strong international confidence in Uzbekistan's reform trajectory and its growing integration into global financial markets.
This institutional endorsement comes as Uzbekistan completes its remarkable seven-year transition from a closed economy to a dynamic investment destination, increasingly attracting international capital and business attention.
The country's economic transformation is clearly evidenced in its macroeconomic performance. According to IMF data, Uzbekistan's GDP has grown from $69.7 billion in 2017 to $115 billion in 2024, with real GDP growth reaching 6.5% in 2024 - among the highest rates in the region.
This sustained expansion reflects the success of ongoing structural reforms. Industrial sector growth has been particularly impressive, with manufacturing output increasing 1.6 times since 2017 and now accounting for over 85% of total industrial production, representing one of Central Asia's most developed manufacturing bases.
The sector's gross value added has seen exponential growth, rising from $2.7 billion to $28.8 billion, with authorities targeting $45 billion by 2030 through continued modernization and value-chain development.
One of the key drivers of Uzbekistan's economic transformation has been its dramatically improved investment climate, achieved through comprehensive structural reforms. The landmark 2019 Law "On Investments and Investment Activities" introduced critical protections including guarantees against expropriation, profit repatriation rights, access to international arbitration, tax incentives, and a streamlined "one-stop-shop" mechanism. When combined with currency liberalization, administrative deregulation, and special economic zone incentives, these measures have created one of Central Asia's most attractive investment environments.
The results speak for themselves: Between 2017 and 2024, Uzbekistan attracted $188 billion in total investments, including $87 billion in foreign direct investment. The number of foreign-capital enterprises surged 3.2-fold to over 16,000, demonstrating growing international confidence in the country's business climate.
A pivotal development in Uzbekistan's investment strategy was the establishment of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF), with $1.68 billion in initial assets under management by global investment firm Franklin Templeton. As Marius Dan, CEO for Central Asia at Templeton Global Investments, noted: "International institutional investors increasingly recognize both the effectiveness of Uzbekistan's reforms and the clarity of its strategic direction – they’re eager to participate in the country's growth."
UzNIF serves as a gateway for global investors to access a diversified portfolio of Uzbek assets across key economic sectors.
This growing international confidence reflects more than just domestic reforms – it underscores Uzbekistan's evolving geopolitical and economic role regionally and globally. Several transformative factors have driven this shift.
First, Uzbekistan's proactive foreign policy has markedly intensified the country's engagement with international and regional organizations. Since 2017 alone, Tashkent has proposed more than 300 concrete initiatives across four major Eurasian blocs: 105 in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), 102 in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 76 in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), and 20 for Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) cooperation - demonstrating Uzbekistan's growing leadership role in regional affairs.
Pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy, Uzbekistan maintains constructive relations with all major partners – Russia, China, the U.S., and the EU – aligning engagement with national development goals. This balanced diplomacy fosters both political trust and economic opportunities, positioning the country as an emerging nexus for equitable international cooperation.
Second, Central Asia's growing stability. Amid global conflicts and regional tensions, the area has maintained an atmosphere of good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Once perceived as fragmented, Central Asia now demonstrates unprecedented levels of trust and consolidation – a transformation driven significantly by Uzbekistan's political leadership. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's initiative to establish the Consultative Meetings of Central Asian Heads of State (C5) proved pivotal, complemented by landmark strategic agreements. The most significant among them is the "Central Asia – 2040" Development Concept, which reflects the region's shared vision and institutionalizes long-term partnership frameworks.
A landmark achievement came in April 2024 with the signing of the Khujand Declaration on Eternal Friendship between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan - the first agreement of its kind in their post-independence history - accompanied by a tripoint border demarcation agreement.
This historic breakthrough resolved one of Central Asia's most delicate geopolitical issues: the final settlement of contested borders that had long strained regional relations.
The interaction between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan illustrates this progress. Border crossing procedures have been simplified, and entry using ID cards (without foreign passports) is now permitted. As a result, 3 million vehicles crossed Uzbekistan's border in 2024. Just one checkpoint, "Dostuk" in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, serves up to 20,000 people daily. For comparison, only 300-500 people crossed the border daily in 2016.
Over eight years, the number of operating checkpoints has tripled to 25, significantly increasing human mobility across the region.
Uzbekistan continues implementing a broad agenda to strengthen regional cooperation, develop a single market, build common transport and energy infrastructure, and create a shared security community.
A promising direction has been increased interaction with South Asia, where markets representing 25% of the world's population and $5.22 trillion in GDP (according to IMF data) are located within two hours' flight time.
Recognizing that Central Asia could become a key logistical and production corridor between Europe and South Asia, Tashkent is working to stabilize Afghanistan and integrate it into regional economic ties. According to experts, comprehensive integration – covering energy, transport, and food sectors – could help the Islamic Emirate transition to "peaceful tracks" and eventually become a responsible participant in international relations.
The First Session of the "Termez Dialogue on Connectivity between Central and South Asia" in May 2025 demonstrated practical progress in this direction. The event was organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies in partnership with Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Forum's agenda prioritized regional security and stability amid persistent threats of terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking. The core mission of the "Termez Dialogue" initiative is to establish a new paradigm of conflict-free relations based on cooperative principles for mutual prosperity between regions.
By implementing this vision of transregional connectivity, Central Asia will transform into a vital economic corridor linking South Asia and Europe.
Third, Central Asia's economic transformation. Over the past decade, the region has achieved an average annual GDP growth of 6.2% – more than double the global average of 2.6%. The IMF projects this momentum will continue through 2028, outpacing growth in developing economies overall.
The region possesses unique competitive advantages: a young and expanding workforce, abundant natural resources, and a strategic geographic position bridging Europe and Asia's major markets.
Central Asia stands as one of the world's youngest and most dynamic regions, with its population growing from 55 million in 2000 to 83 million today, and projected to exceed 100 million by 2050 according to UN estimates. The region boasts a median age of just 28.7 years - significantly younger than China or Europe - providing a robust and expanding labor force.
The region possesses extraordinary natural resource wealth, containing approximately 20% of global uranium reserves, 17.2% of world oil deposits, and 7% of natural gas reserves. Central Asia ranks among the top 20 global producers of coal and electricity, while holding massive shares of strategic minerals: 39% of world manganese reserves, 30% of chromium, 20% of lead, and 5% each of titanium, copper, aluminum, cobalt and molybdenum reserves.
Central Asia occupies the crossroads of major transport corridors, positioned at the confluence of emerging power centers – China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkiye, and India.
Uzbekistan's investment appeal stems not only from domestic reforms and economic growth, but from its sophisticated regional development model combining institutional maturity, coordinated policymaking, and international engagement.
We are witnessing a historic transformation: Uzbekistan is evolving from a peripheral actor into one of Eurasia's pivotal economic hubs.
This systemic transformation is creating a multiplier effect across Central Asia, with Uzbekistan's success catalyzing the region's emergence as a vital bridge between the world's major economies – from Europe to South Asia.
The outcomes of the 4th International Investment Forum in 2025 represent more than just economic achievements – they signal the emergence of a new growth pole in the global economic architecture. Central Asia is asserting itself as the region of the future: young, dynamic, resource-rich, and geostrategically vital. As investors seek new footholds in an uncertain global economy, Tashkent offers not only macroeconomic stability and reliability, but also the opportunity to shape Eurasia's new economic reality. In this context, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's Forum announcement regarding the "Unified Investment and Trade Space" initiative transcends mere rhetoric—it constitutes a concrete action plan for the coming years.
Akramjon Nematov is First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Kamila Sobirova is Leading Research Fellow of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
