International Affairs
On September 18th 2017, the Chamber of Commerce of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg organized, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Brussels, a country seminar on the business opportunities in Uzbekistan, in front of an audience of interested Luxembourg-based companies.
Uzbekistan is the largest market in Central Asia with a population of over 33 Million inhabitants. Strategically situated between Kazakhstan, Russia, China, the European Union and the Middle East, the Republic of Uzbekistan is striving to become, once again, one of the go-to hubs for intercontinental exchange along the New Silk Road, the multinational economic overland and maritime corridor between China and Europe. Uzbekistans’s main exports are energy products, cotton, gold, mineral fertilizers, metals, textiles, machinery, automobiles and is actively diversifying its economy. Uzbekistan (once closed to the world) is currently undergoing vast economic reforms and is strengthening its ties with neighbours – both close and far. These reforms, including foreign currency exchange reforms and other efforts to bring in more foreign capital, are placing Uzbekistan on investors’ radars as one of the few remaining investment locations with significant potential. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as a matter of fact, has re-engaged with Uzbekistan after a brief previous hiatus.
The seminar celebrated the ambition of Uzbekistan to become, the go-to hub in its region, as well as all the other business opportunities that could be of interest for all parties: such as joint efforts in the sectors of information & communication technologies, finance & banking, mining & smelting, machinery and last but not least, energy.
Mr. Botir Parpiev, Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and H.E. Mr. Dilyor Khakimov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Brussels, met with Mr. Jeannot Erpelding, Director International Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce, before the seminar to discuss potential collaborations opportunities. They then headed to the conference room at which point Mr. Erpelding opened the Seminar in front of an audience of 35 business representatives from Luxembourg.
Following the intervention of the Uzbek delegation, representatives of Luxembourg-based companies, namely Mr. Nicolas Van Beek from JNS Labs, Mr. Max Kremer from Arendt & Medernach and Mr. Diyor Yakubov from WeTrust Luxembourg gave testimonials on their experience in Uzbekistan.
