President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting in Milan with investors and big business representatives of the country as part of business events during his official visit to Italy.

On the Italian side, governor of the Lombardy region Attilio Fontana, president of the Italy-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce Giorgio Veronesi, as well as more than 25 executives of leading companies, corporations, associations and financial institutions, such as Eni, Enel, Pietro Fiorentini, Saipem, Energy System, Imagro Group, HT Holding, Danieli, SACE, Ferroli Group, Arsenale Group and Pirelli,  attended the meeting.

"This is my first visit to your wonderful country, one of the oldest cradles of world civilization, the centre of rich cultural heritage and high technologies, the source of inspiration for many generations of artists and poets," the President noted, opening the event. "It is symbolic that our meeting is taking place in Milan, the modern economic centre, where business processes are active, innovations and technologies are being discovered, and new industries are being developed.
It is ratified to note that economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Italy has been developing dynamically in recent years. The number of modern enterprises in our country with Italian investments has doubled. The volume of mutual trade has been growing steadily. A range of joint projects in electrical engineering, metallurgy and infrastructure development have been successfully implemented.

The Head of State described the talks held the previous day at the highest level with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as fruitful and constructive.

"We have raised our countries' relations to the level of strategic partnership and started a new stage in history. We have agreed to expand trade and economic cooperation, create favourable conditions for business, introduce flexible mechanisms of financing joint projects, and support our initiatives. We have also outlined guidelines for the development of industrial cooperation," Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

Italian business representatives are capable of making a significant contribution to the implementation of all agreements reached. In addition, on the eve of the visit, a joint business forum was held with the participation of about 300 representatives of business circles of the two countries, which confirms the interest of Italian investors in Uzbekistan.

A series of new investment and trade agreements worth over €9 billion were signed. These are large-scale cooperation projects in the energy, gas and oil and gas sectors, metallurgy, chemicals, textiles and agriculture. 

During the meeting, noting the importance of a constructive and open dialogue built on principles of confidence and respect, especially against the backdrop of profound upheavals in the global economy and disruption of global supply chains, the Head of our State expressed Uzbekistan's willingness to provide support measures and effective space for Italian businesses to operate in our country.

The President of Uzbekistan has referred specifically to the reforms and renovations taking place in Uzbekistan. He noted the consistent work on introducing free market mechanisms, ensuring healthy competition and inviolability of private property, supporting entrepreneurship, introducing an effective system of public administration and other positive changes aimed at creating a comfortable environment for doing business.

"Today we have all conditions for the development and prosperity of your business. Stability, reliable guarantees and a favorable investment climate have been assured. I invite each of you to come to our country to make sure that the New Uzbekistan is truly a unique country with unlimited opportunities," President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

As already mentioned, the synergies created by combining Uzbekistan's rich natural resources and skilled workforce with Italy's technological and industrial potential, make it possible to jointly produce value-added products and export them to  third-country markets.

The most promising areas for coperatopm have been identified as energy, food and textile industry, agriculture, chemistry and the automotive industry, electrical engineering and many other sectors.

There was a detailed exchange of views on plans to expand the partnership.   Representatives of Italian business circles praised the efficiency of the reforms underway in our country, which set the foundation for the development of cooperation with business representatives in the long run.

Uzbekistan was noted as a strategic partner for Italian companies, which opens up opportunities for Italian companies to work with the promising region of Central Asia.

Italian businessmen and investors outlined their concrete proposals and plans for mutually beneficial joint projects in Uzbekistan, including the introduction of high-tech and innovative solutions.

As an example, they talked about expanding interregional cooperation programmes with the Lombardy region, modernisation of the gas distribution system in Uzbekistan and electricity networks in Tashkent, Technological upgrade of the Tashkent TPP (thermal power plant), construction of several plants, including waste-to-energy generation, chlorine purification, potassium hydroxide, construction materials, production of agricultural machinery, expansion of saffron plantations, increase of Uzmetkombinat's production capacity, establish  Italian Centre for Technology and Innovation together with the Turin Polytechnic University. 

In addition, agreements have been reached on training for the industry.

The Head of Uzbekistan instructed to incorporate every initiative mentioned during the meeting into a comprehensive road map. Heads of Uzbek ministries and agencies have been instructed to provide comprehensive assistance to Italian partners in implementing their ongoing and new projects in our country.