Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The panel discussion, moderated by Sean McEllin, National Economic Development Project Consultant at Saviday, explored Uzbekistan's role in the Central Asian region and its rich investment opportunities.

The present speakers were:

• Omar N. Al Midani, President and CEO of Vision Invest  
• Raad Al-Saady, Vice-Chairman of ACWA Power
• Mehmet Arif Ozozan, CEO of “UCC Holding” cluster
• Nasser Fares Massoud, Founder & Managing Director, Concept Realisation
• Mikheil Nibladze, Managing director of “Cerberus Frontier”
• Adrian Steiner, CEO of Mitinhaber Thermoplan AG

Emphasizing the progress made in our country in recent years, CEO of UCC Holding cluster Mehmet Arif Ozozan said:

- I have known Uzbekistan for a very long time, doing business here for 10 years now. Since I myself am from Turkey, I feel similarities in culture, traditions and other aspects.

Since I arrived, there have been tremendous positive developments in 3-4 areas: commitment to work, leadership and vision. In addition, it should be noted that the country's GDP has almost doubled.

Uzbekistan is a very open country, and a friendly atmosphere for investors has been formed here. This is a huge achievement for the country, and the movement towards progress at a such speed never ceases to amaze me

It is worth being proud that Uzbekistan has achieved such great results in a very short period of time. This will increase the attractiveness of the country for international investors and attract their attention.

In general, if we talk about corporations, Qatar and Uzbekistan are building very good political and strategic ties. That is why we decided to come here as a Qatari conglomerate.  As part of our strategic goal is not only to invest in the energy sector, which is now developing, but also to be active in other areas. We aim to contribute to the transport, aviation, energy and other infrastructure sectors

In this way, our investment will be long-term and it will benefit both countries equally.

It was noted that the growing consumer market, the possibility of constant labor force renewal, strategic location in transport corridors between Asia and Europe, tariff-free access to the EU market for more than 6,000 products, rich natural resources create favorable conditions for business and investors.

Omar N. Al Midani, President and CEO of Vision Invest:

- When you see large corporations and various international organizations coming to Uzbekistan to invest, you understand: they are doing something right in this country. Having flown here, I, who had never visited Uzbekistan before, did not know what to expect. However, after seeing everything with my own eyes, I was surprised: I did not expect to find such a beautiful country with such hospitable people. The country turned out to be very clean, safe and organized. As you walk around the city, you begin to perceive and appreciate the local culture.

You will also see that this country is run with foresight. The directions to the goals are precise. Talking to the leadership and ministers, you come to the conclusion that "these are the partners who gave me confidence. They know the ins and outs. They understand what they want to do in their country.

We started working here a year ago as Vision Invest. We are currently looking at many opportunities, and from personal experience, I can say that not everywhere you can find an ecosystem that has all the necessary components as in Uzbekistan.

It reminded me of the transformation that the Saudis went through in 2015. If you want to understand what you see now, you have to understand the difference between Uzbekistan before 2017 and Uzbekistan after 2017, Al Midani said.