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

The session was moderated by Tarik Sahovich, Principal Operations Officer, IFC

The panel discussion speakers were:

        - Jason Chung, Senior Advisor, Patomak Global Partners & as U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank

        - Thomas Emanuel Dans, former U.S. Treasury International Affairs

         - Anton Konnov, Corporate partner and Global head of the CIS Desk, Allen & Overy

        - Mikhail Turetsky, Partner and Co-Head Latham & Watkins

         - Golib Holjigitov, Secretary, Foreign Investment Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

According to World Bank reports, a transparent, predictable and open regulatory environment is critical to attracting and retaining foreign investment. Uzbekistan strives to create favorable conditions by 2030 as part of the "Uzbekistan 2030" strategy.

The discussion focused on how the provisions of the new Investment Law will help improve the regulatory framework and provide clarity and predictability to attract private investment. Support and protection measures for investors, which may affect Uzbekistan's choice of investment, successful implementation of projects and reinvestment, were also considered.

At the session, Thomas Emanuel Dans emphasized the importance of having a new law that can protect the rights of investors in terms of investments:

"For thirty years, I have invested directly in venture capital in many countries, including Uzbekistan. As investors, our main priority is to secure our income. We must focus on developing robust strategies to protect our investments. Unfortunately, some deals may fall through due to legal complications. Expropriation is our worst-case scenario. Spending time and money on legal disputes is ineffective. Our goal is to invest, earn and reinvest effectively. We need a smooth flow of capital. I hope that the new investment law will support this goal."

The discussion focused on how the provisions of the new law "On Investment" will help to improve regulatory legal documents, ensure accuracy and predictability in attracting private investments. Speaker Mikhail Turetsky discussed the provisions of Article 63 of the current law, emphasizing the requirement for investors to complete all domestic remedies before applying to the court. Expressing his concern about this process, he noted that the local legal system requires a significant investment of time, which may call into question its effectiveness, especially when challenging government actions. Turetsky noted that investors naturally prefer to start international procedures immediately and emphasized the role of the current law in delaying this process. Then he focused on the goals of the new law. The new law aims to provide favorable conditions for investors. He also noted the introduction of a new norm that departs from the requirement of exhausting domestic remedies in Article 29. Instead, it will introduce a 180-day freeze period. This provision is sufficient to assure investors that if the country resolves the dispute within this period, they can resort to international arbitration or another international settlement procedure. Turetsky said that this change could be positively received by foreign investors.

The session also discussed measures to support and protect investors, which may affect the choice of investment direction, successful implementation of projects and reinvestment of Uzbekistan.