Today in Tashkent, the Director General of the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO), Robert Simoncic made remarks at the Uzbek-Slovak Business Forum about the high interest of Slovak companies in Uzbekistan and pointed to the need to expand economic partnership.
The event took place as part of the official visit of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Robert Simoncic noted that the business delegation included 25 companies interested in cooperation with Uzbekistan. "Some of them are already working here, have reliable partners, and we hope that we will be able to develop this cooperation and attract even more companies," he added.
According to him, despite the fact that bilateral trade volumes are still low, last year the turnover increased by 50%, which testifies to the significant untapped potential. Today, about 19 Slovak companies operate in Uzbekistan.
Among the examples, he named Chirana ASIA, which opened a medical equipment manufacturing plant in 2021, and the metallurgical company OFZ, which moved part of its ferroalloy production to Uzbekistan. In addition, AZC is implementing a project to grow rice on 500 hectares. Rokosan (specializing in the production of organo-mineral and amino acid fertilizers and has 20 years of experience, offering comprehensive plant nutrition solutions) and others are also active.
Several memorandums of understanding are planned to be signed on the sidelines of the forum.
"Matador, Betamont and Rokosan will sign the relevant documents. SARIO has already concluded two additional memorandums, and Mazingbek will sign another one," Simončič said.
Betamont is a Slovak technology company specializing in the development of intelligent transport systems (ITS). The company's main areas of research and development are the areas of automobile and rail transport. Uzbekistan plans to purchase systems for determining the weight and dimensions of vehicles from the company. Matador is a tire plant in Slovakia, founded in 1905. It is part of the Continental AG concern.
He added that three months ago, an Uzbek-Slovak business forum had taken place in Bratislava, and a month ago, the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the two countries took place.
“I think we are heading in the right direction, but we still have a lot of work to do to build strong ties,” he emphasized.
The chief of SARIO noted the importance of diversifying foreign economic relations: “Slovakia is deeply integrated into the EU economy - about 80% of exports go to EU countries. However, strengthening the partnership with Uzbekistan can help us achieve this goal.”
Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Shokhrukh Gulamov said that the experience of Slovak companies in such areas as automotive, metallurgy, infrastructure, agriculture, food production and energy is important for accelerating the economic transformation of Uzbekistan.
“This partnership not only promotes sustainable growth, but also creates long-term opportunities for investment and strengthening bilateral cooperation. The potential for expanding economic cooperation is very large. We can and must further develop cooperation and open new horizons for joint growth,” he said.
At a meeting between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister Robert Fico, Uzbekistan and Slovakia agreed to increase trade and launch major joint projects in the agricultural sector, localization of auto components, tourism and pharmaceuticals. The parties will work on creating a joint venture fund for IT startups and establishing organized migration.
