On January 17, 2012, Palais des Nations in Geneva hosted a conference entitled “Uzbekistan and Europe: Prospects for Cooperation in Transport and Energy Spheres”.
The event was organized by Permanent mis sion of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with the support by the Center for Political Studies and the Fund “Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan”.
The event was attended by over 100 representatives of official, business and academic circles of ECE countries and the Middle East, as well as the authoritative international organizations of the UN system and diplomatic corps in Geneva.
The Uzbek side in the conference was represented by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Economy, National Holding Company “Uzbekneftegaz”, as well as the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to Geneva.
The conference discussed issues related to transport and energy potential of Uzbekistan, the prospects for further development of cooperation in these areas between the parties.
As the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD P. Draganov noted, Uzbekistan has done a great job in improving transport infrastructure and the construction of roads and railwa ys. In this context, he positively assessed the initiative to create free industrial economic zone (FIEZ) “Navoi” with multi-modal hub, which by virtue of its excellent geographic location creates additional opportunities for increased cooperation between business circles of Uzbekistan and Europe in the field of transit of freights and the establishment of appropriate industrial services and structures for mediation activities.
As for the questions of energy, he noted that Uzbekistan successfully carries out measures to ensure low levels of emissions and provide the environmentally-oriented economy. UNCTAD experts pointed out that in recent years, European companies in Uzbekistan are involved not only in the sphere of hydrocarbons, but also in projects in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
In its turn, the Uzbek side briefed the participants with the basic macroeconomic indicators, a favorable investment climate and the state of investment cooperation of Uzbekistan with foreign countries. Besides, it presented an overview of potential investment opportunities at FIEZ “Navoi”, as well as international transport corridor “Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar”.
Director of ECE Transport Division E. Molnar noted that the high GDP growth of Uzbekistan is commendable. According to her, the efforts of the Uzbek side to modernize the economy, technological advancement and the introduction of modern technologies in the sectors of the economy, including in energy, via promotion of efficient technologies are highly valued by the UNECE.
During the plenary session that was devoted to energy, the issues of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Europe in such areas as investment, technology, exploration and extraction of raw materials, establishment of new energy, oil and gas facilities, projects on energy efficiency etc., were touched upon.
In general, exchange of views that were held in the framework of the conference demonstrated the presence of a large unused potential for cooperation between Uzbekistan and EU states in the field of transport and energy. It was noted that an achieved progress in the Republic in area of transport-communication, the petroleum and energy sectors create additional opportunities for prospective European investors.
Upon the end of the conference, parties agreed that continuation of such events can add a significant contribution to the dialogue between the business and official circles of the two regions in the future.
