On May 27, the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov made an address at the 10th plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the press service of the ministry said.

Kamilov’s address was devoted to the Ministry's activities, achievements, as well as drawbacks and shortfalls in terms of enhancing foreign economic ties, attracting foreign investments and advanced technologies to the country, promoting tourism and improving Uzbekistan’s reputation.

Overall about 320 trade and investment agreements were signed totaling about $ 44 billion. In particular 239 agreements worth about 37.7 billion dollars were signed in the framework of the visits of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and China. Road maps have been approved with 13 countries to ensure their implementation, Uzbekistan’s trade houses have been inaugurated in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a number of other countries.

Abdulaziz Kamilov, however, admitted to the Foreign Ministry and Uzbekistan’s diplomatic missions not working efficiently with respect to promoting Uzbekistan’s economic interests abroad. According to the minister, seven ambassadors were dismissed from their posts for poor performance, three deputy ministers and two heads of department were strictly reprimanded. Among the reasons for the unsatisfactory work are low skills and lack of experience in negotiating with foreign partners and business entities in hosting countries.

In spite of having a huge investment potential, Uzbekistan still lags behind many countries in terms of attracting foreign investment, he added. In order to identify the main reasons for continued low foreign investment figures, the Ministry together with the diplomatic missions conducted a survey among businessmen and experts from reputable financial institutions with experience of working in Uzbekistan. As a result, a number of factors and conditions were identified that hamper the flow of investments to Uzbekistan. Among them:

- problems related with foreign currency conversion and profit repatriation;

- poor state of the banking system;

- poor protection of investors' rights and ineffective judicial system;

- administrative and bureaucratic barriers, complicated licenses and permits obtaining procedures;

- low investment ratings;

The Minister said that the Senate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ministries and departments have drafted and submitted for consideration to the President a draft State program of priority measures for Further improvement of the investment climate, stimulation of attracting foreign investments and advanced technologies into Uzbekistan.

Kamilov noted that in order to improve the activities of the Ministry and diplomatic missions in terms of attracting investments and modern technologies, it would be appropriate to undertake the following measures:

1) approving Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy And foreign Economic Activity Strategy for 2017-2021 developed by the Ministry together with the concerned ministries and departments;

2) optimizing the structure and staffing of Uzbekistan’s diplomatic missions.

3) setting up within the Foreign Ministry of a department on international economic cooperation. Work in this direction is already underway;

4) reviewing the principles of training of international economists;

5) developing common standards for design proposals based on international practice and engaging leading Western consulting companies into drafting technical documentation for quality preparation of investment projects and proposals for privatization of state assets;

6) proceeding with liberalization of the foreign exchange market, the banking and financial system and improving legislation to ensure reliable protection of investors' rights;

7) enhancing cooperation with international rating agencies and research institutions. It is important to ensure the regular publication in open sources of economic information, including information on the state budget and its fulfillment, monetary policy, foreign trade figures, etc., which are necessary for foreign investors for decision making.

In conclusion he said that in addition to promoting investment and attracting high technologies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for promoting national interests in the international arena, building a balanced, stable and predictable relations with all states, strengthening of regional security and the formation of a belt of prosperity and stability around Uzbekistan, expanding the international cooperation legal framework for to protect the rights and interests of Uzbek citizens abroad and others.