Ten trade and investment totaling US$ 150 million, as wells education, health care deals were signed at the first Uzbek-American-Canadian business forum in Navoi Friday, the Foreign Ministry reported.
In the forum were present the Mississippi State delegation headed by the Governor Phil Bryant, the members of the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce, business executives from Texas, Florida, Nebraska, officials of U.S. Eximbank, the USAID, the U.S, Embassy, as well as Canada’s trade mission led by Charge d'Affaires in Uzbekistan Annick Goulet.
The Navoi province governor’s office entered into an agreement with the American company Calatrava Grace on the implementation of the US$ 100 million monoblock production plant and the so-called affordable housing projects. Also of particular intrest was the signing of the US$ 24 million biofuel crops cluster project with the Canadian Advanced Bio-Oil Technologies.
As part of the forum, an agreement was signed between the cities of Zarafshan and Clinton on the establishment of twin-town relations. Zarafshan has become the third city in Uzbekistan, which has sister city relations with a U.S. city. Such relations are established between Tashkent and Seattle, as well as Bukhara and Santa Fe.
The Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, speaking about promising areas of bilateral cooperation, highlighted the agriculture, in particular, cotton growing, logistics, the textile industry and education.
According to the head of the Canadian delegation Annick Goulet, the event was attended by the largest number of Canadian business executives in the history of the bilateral ties - over 40 oil and gas, mining, agriculture, livestock genetics, education, industry, health care companies.
The forum also included a matchmaking session and tours for foreign investors to the infrastructure, tourism and social facilities of the Navoi province.
