region with more than 30 million people. It is about
half of the total population of Central Asia.
Thanks to well-developed transport infrastructure,
enterprises of Uzbekistan have the opportunity to enter
the largest and fastest-growing markets in Central Asia
and Afghanistan (with a population of over 90 million
people), CIS countries (with a population of over 300
million people), West and East Asia, as well as Europe.
Free trade agreements on with 11 CIS countries
provide duty-free importation of Uzbek producers’
goods to these markets.
The country is among the top ten countries on
reserves of oil and gas, coal and uranium. The electricity price is 4 times lower than the average price
paid by industrial customers in developed countries.
Third, the country has the most diversified economy
in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is the only Central
Asian state producing a wide range of modern cars,
trucks, high-quality agricultural machinery from
the mini-tractors to harvesters, the region’s largest
producer of chemical, textile, food, building materials,
electronics and electrical engineering products.
Fourth, the presence of significant human and
intellectual potential meeting modern international standards of education. More than half of
the population of our country is young people
who take the mandatory 12-year education and
receive in-depth knowledge of at least 2 modern
professions, information technologies, and learn
at least two foreign languages.
Uzbekistan created a number of branches of leading European, Asian and Russian universities, in
particular the British Westminster University and
Singapore Institute of Management and Development, Turin Polytechnic University, Inha University in Tashkent and others.
Uzbekistan also has agreements with 45 countries
on providing Most Favored Nation treatment,
which improves the competitiveness of Uzbek
products on foreign markets.
Today, Uzbekistan’s most promising areas for foreign
direct investment are oil and gas sector, first and foremost it is in-depth processing of hydrocarbon raw
materials and production of high value added products; chemical industry, in particular, the production
of polyvinyl chloride, plastics, new types of chemical
fertilizers; mechanical engineering; electrotechnical
field; production of construction materials; textile
industry; mastering of mineral resources, including
search and joint development of new deposits of
natural resources; introduction of alternative energy
sources; information technologies.
Fifth, the advantageous geographical location and
proximity to major markets is another attractive
factor of Uzbekistan for foreign investors. The
country possesses the largest consumer market in the
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